Project 10073 Record Card and Correspondence — Norristown, Pennsylvania, 13 January 1959

On 13 January 1959, at approximately 1655 EST, a civilian chaplain driving on Route 202, four miles northeast of Norristown, Pennsylvania, observed an unidentified object in the sky. The witness, who possessed a background in technical and engineering training as well as an interest in astronomy, described the object as cigar-shaped with a vertical axis and a color resembling golden sunlight. The object appeared to be positioned approximately 10 degrees above the horizon and 10 degrees south of the setting sun. The witness observed the object for 50 minutes, noting that it seemed to descend slowly toward the horizon, eventually disappearing behind a thin bar of horizon cloud. The witness initially considered and rejected the possibility that the object was a cloud or the moon. Following the observation, the witness documented the event in notes, which were later submitted to Major Joseph Boland at the Pentagon. The official conclusion recorded on the Project 10073 record card suggests that the witness likely observed a parhelion, or 'sun dog,' based on the description and the object's apparent motion relative to the setting sun.