UFO Sighted North of Ann Arbor, Michigan

On March 22, 1959, at approximately 0130 hours, a couple driving near Dexter, Michigan, reported observing an unidentified aerial phenomenon. They described an elongated, oval-shaped object with a dome, approximately 20 to 30 feet in diameter, hovering at an altitude of about 200 feet. The object appeared to have a 'bird cage' structure and emitted pale-yellow light. As the witnesses drove, the object appeared to travel parallel to their vehicle for about a mile. They reported that the yellow lights dimmed, a circle of red lights appeared on the underside, and the object then rose rapidly and disappeared. The witnesses were initially frightened but remained calm enough to observe the object for 8 to 10 minutes. The Air Force conducted an investigation, contacting Dr. Allen K. Barrett at the University of Michigan's Peach Mountain Observatory. It was determined that the witnesses had observed the university's 85-foot radio telescope. The telescope's wire-mesh dish, illuminated by a floodlight and the moon, created the 'bird cage' appearance. The red lights observed were identified as the aircraft warning lights on a nearby radio tower, which aligned with the telescope from the witnesses' perspective. The 'zooming' motion was explained as the telescope dish rotating from the horizon to the zenith, followed by the operating crew turning off the floodlights, which caused the object to appear to vanish. The investigation concluded that the sighting was a misidentification of the radio telescope and associated infrastructure. The witnesses were considered reliable, and the incident was resolved as a natural, albeit unusual, observation of scientific equipment.