Project 10073 Record Card — Moriarty, New Mexico, 9 December 1957

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and associated teletype communications regarding a UFO sighting reported on December 9, 1957, near Moriarty, New Mexico. The report was filed by the Commander of the 768th ACWRON at Moriarty Air Force Station. The witness, a communication technician described as sober and reliable, observed a single object for approximately two seconds. The object was described as having a shark-like tail or wings with no visible fuselage, appearing between the size of a baseball and a grapefruit. It exhibited an incandescent metallic color and left a quick-fading trail of sparks behind it before vanishing suddenly. The flight path was described as westerly, with no changes in altitude or direction. Weather conditions at the time were reported as very clear with no clouds and no moon, and visibility exceeding 15 miles. The official conclusion reached by the evaluating authorities was that the object was an astronomical event, specifically a meteor. This conclusion was supported by the fact that the Earth was passing through the peak of the Geminids meteor shower at the time. Furthermore, the reporting officer noted that approximately fifteen minutes after the initial sighting, a shower of three meteors was observed falling to Earth in approximately the same location where the original object had vanished. Despite the reporting officer's initial assessment that the observation was beyond their previous experience, the final determination categorized the event as an astronomical phenomenon.