Project 10073 Record Card and Correspondence Regarding July 25, 1958 Sighting

This document collection details a sighting of an extremely bright object observed on July 25, 1958, near Las Cruces, New Mexico. The object, estimated at -5 or -6 magnitude, was observed by a leading astronomer for approximately 20 seconds. It displayed a four-degree tail and emitted sparks while traversing an arc from 320 degrees azimuth at 35 degrees altitude to 100 degrees azimuth at 20 degrees altitude. The observer noted that the object moved at a rate of 5 degrees per second, which he considered 'almost too slow for a meteor.' Despite this, the official conclusion recorded on the Project 10073 record card is that it was a confirmed meteor sighting. Correspondence from the Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory to Captain George T. Gregory at the Air Technical Intelligence Center further discusses the event. The author of the letter, while acknowledging the possibility of an artificial meteor or satellite, ultimately favored the meteor explanation but recommended maintaining a list of such bright, slow-moving objects for future intelligence analysis. The document also references other sightings in Bermuda, Portland, and Chapel Hill, noting a potential common time interval between these events.