Project 10073 Record Card — New Delhi, India, 14 July 1959

On July 14, 1959, at approximately 9:00 P.M., a 2nd Secretary Economic at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India, observed a series of strange lights while on his roof terrace. The witness initially mistook the first light for an airplane, but noted it lacked the expected green starboard light and made no sound despite its brightness and apparent proximity. Over the next 15 minutes, the witness observed six additional lights, all exhibiting an orange-red color similar to a medium-bright star. These objects moved in straight lines across the sky at varying altitudes and directions before disappearing as if extinguished. The witness reported the weather was clear, with only minor cloud cover to the south and a low front in the west. Major Banta M. York, the Acting Air Attache, filed an Air Intelligence Information Report regarding the incident. The official evaluation, documented on a Project 10073 record card, concluded that the objects were likely part of the Capricornids meteor shower, noting that astronomical records confirmed such activity at the time of the sighting. Supporting meteorological data from the Indian Air Force weather station at Palam Airport indicated a temperature inversion existed earlier in the day, but was not present at the time of the observation.