Project 10073 Record Card — Thermopolis, Wyoming, 5 September 1958

On September 5, 1958, at approximately 0430Z, a 16-year-old student named Dick Boots reported observing an unidentified aerial object over Thermopolis, Wyoming. The witness described the object as star-shaped, roughly the size of a pinhead, and displaying red and green colors. The object was initially reported as stationary, then observed moving in a steady course, first to the north and later to the northwest. The witness observed the object with the naked eye under clear weather conditions. The report was processed by the 740th ACWRON at Ellsworth AFB. In response to the sighting, an F89J aircraft from Campaign 18 was scrambled at 0655Z to search the vicinity of Thermopolis between 15,000 and 30,000 feet. The pilot was unable to make visual or radar contact with any object. 1st Lt. Marcus F. Roggenbuck, Director of the 740th ACWRON, concluded that the object was likely an astronomical feature, specifically the star Vega, which was calculated to be at 280 degrees azimuth and 65 degrees elevation at the time of the report. The official conclusion recorded on the Project 10073 record card categorizes the sighting as astronomical.