Project 10073 Record Card — Cedar Key, Florida, 5 December 1957

On December 5, 1957, at 1704Z, a civilian observer in Cedar Key, Florida, reported sighting a single, round, white object drifting slowly toward the northeast. The observation lasted for one minute and the object remained visible at the time of the report. The weather conditions were reported as clear. The incident was documented on a Project 10073 record card. Military communications regarding the sighting involved the 660th ACWRON at MacDill AFB, the 35th ADIV, and the Air Technical Intelligence Center. The official conclusion reached by the evaluating agency was that the object's characteristics were consistent with those of a weather balloon. Internal notes suggest that while balloon schedules typically indicated a release around 1300 local time, it was known that releases could occur up to an hour early, or that the object could have been an unscheduled release from Eglin AFB or Tallahassee. The documentation includes a handwritten note dismissing a potential 'Planet Venus' identification, noting that such an astronomical sighting would be impossible at noon.