Project 10073 Record Card - St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, 28 February 1958

On February 28, 1958, at 1121Z, a weather observer named David Duggan, an A/2 C with Detachment 15 of the 7th Weather Group, reported a sighting of an unidentified object from Northeast Cape on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. The observer, who was using M 15A1 7x50 binoculars, described the object as a semi-circular white light, initially jagged on top but later smoothing out, appearing roughly the size of a half-dollar. The object remained stationary for approximately 30 minutes. Despite the observer's professional background in weather observation, the object could not be detected by the local FPS-3 radar. The observer noted that the object appeared to be a glow from a light source. The report highlights that the line of sight, at an azimuth of 285 degrees, pointed toward the USSR territory in the vicinity of the Gulf of Anadyrsky. The observer also reported an unexplained, near-instantaneous rise in barometric pressure that coincided with the sighting. Subsequent analysis by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) suggested that the object was likely the star Capella. Analysts noted that Capella would have been in the exact line of sight at an elevation of 40 to 50 degrees, and that the unusual appearance of celestial bodies in Arctic regions, particularly when viewed through binoculars in hazy or foggy conditions, is a known phenomenon to UFO analysts. The report concludes that the object was likely an astronomical body, though it acknowledges the observer's report of a low elevation (2 degrees) as a point of discrepancy. The document includes correspondence between various military units, including the 712th ACWRON and the 5060th ACW Group, regarding the submission and evaluation of the report under the guidelines of AFR 200-2.