Project 10073 Record Card and Correspondence regarding Boulder, Colorado Sighting

This document collection details the investigation of a UFO sighting reported on February 6, 1959, in Boulder, Colorado. A civilian witness, while photographing the town from Flagstaff Mountain, captured an image of a white, luminous, roughly spherical object. The witness initially did not notice the object until the film was developed. The case was brought to the attention of Dr. Donald H. Menzel of the Harvard College Observatory, a prominent skeptic of UFO phenomena. Menzel hypothesized that the object was not an extraterrestrial craft but rather a reflection of the sun off a large window of a building in Boulder. The witness subsequently conducted a series of tests in May 1959, returning to the exact location where the original photograph was taken. By comparing the original image with the geography of the area, the witness determined that the Law Building of the University of Colorado was positioned in the center of the blob's location. The witness concluded that the sun's reflection off the building's large double window, when opened at a specific angle, created the overexposed image on the film. The witness provided this explanation and photographic evidence to Menzel, who in turn forwarded the case to Major Robert J. Friend at the Aerospace Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) as an example of a solved 'flying saucer' case. The correspondence also touches upon the witness's interest in natural phenomena, such as sun pillars, and Menzel's frustration regarding his appearance on the 'Today' show, where he felt he was unfairly attacked by other guests, including Donald Keyhoe. The file includes the original Project 10073 record card, various letters between Menzel and the witness, and photographic prints of the Boulder landscape.