Project 10073 Record Card and Air Intelligence Information Report — Huntsville, Alabama, 2 January 1958

This document file contains an Air Intelligence Information Report (IR-01-58) and associated correspondence regarding a sighting of an unidentified object over Huntsville, Alabama, on the evening of 2 January 1958. Two residents reported observing a very bright, white ball that appeared larger than Venus and turned greenish toward the end of its trajectory. The report notes that the object was observed for approximately two seconds and moved in a northwesterly direction. The information was initially gathered by the Rocket City Astronomical Association and subsequently passed through the 3rd U. S. Army to the 35th Air Division (Def). The 35th Air Division noted that no investigative action was taken at their level. The documentation includes a Project 10073 record card, which summarizes the sighting details and lists the conclusion as a meteor. Further correspondence dated 5 March 1958 from J. Allen Hynek of the Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory to Captain George T. Gregory at the Air Technical Intelligence Center confirms that the case was reviewed and deemed to be a meteor. Hynek noted that he was personally acquainted with the witness who reported the event and intended to conduct further inquiries during a planned visit to Huntsville. The file also includes a brief, handwritten note suggesting that the Huntsville group had been in contact with the Pentagon regarding the sighting.