Project 10073 Record Card and Unidentified Flying Object Report — Omaha, Nebraska, 11 December 1958

This document is a formal record and subsequent report regarding an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) sighting that occurred on December 11, 1958, in Omaha, Nebraska. The report, filed under Project 10073, details an observation lasting two hours and fifteen minutes, beginning at 0115 Zulu. The witnesses included two civilians—a 38-year-old housewife and a 17-year-old high school student—and a military observer, Sergeant Dick J. Burkard, who served as a Direction Center Crew Chief for the 789th ACWRON. The witnesses described a round, bluish-white object that appeared stationary in the sky at an elevation of 20 to 30 degrees. The object featured two lights, one red and one green, which appeared to rotate in a manner that caused the lights to pass from right to left along the edge of a plane parallel to the ground. The witnesses estimated the object's size to be that of a quarter held at arm's length. No sound was heard, and no tail, trail, or exhaust was observed. The object was first noticed when it appeared to be on a collision course with an aircraft, which subsequently passed underneath it. The sighting ended when a light cloud bank moved in from the southwest, obscuring the object. Despite the report being filed through military channels, no radar contact was established, and no intercept action was taken. The investigating officer, Captain Howard T. Moody, noted that the observer was a qualified radar operator and remained convinced of the object's existence. However, the official conclusion recorded on the project card suggests the sighting possessed the characteristics of an astronomical body, specifically identifying the stars Formalhaut or Altair as potential candidates. The report emphasizes that preliminary analysis could neither fully support nor deny the possibility that an anomalous object was seen, though it notes that the observer had reported a similar sighting on a previous occasion.