Project 10073 Record Card — Larson AFB, Washington, 21 September 1959

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and associated military teletype messages regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon reported on September 21, 1959, near Larson Air Force Base in Washington. The sighting, which lasted approximately 42 minutes, involved a single, round, bright white object described by witnesses as resembling a spotlight. Ten observers, including control tower personnel, reported the object. Witnesses noted that the object appeared to be a very bright star, brighter than any other star they had seen, and appeared closer to the earth than a star. The object was observed at an elevation of approximately 10 degrees and was reported to have very little movement, though it was noted as moving in a south-easterly direction. The object was visible in clear skies until cloud cover moved in between the observers and the object. Radar contact was also reported, with an aircraft tracking the object at 12,000 feet east of Larson AFB. The official conclusion reached by the reporting officials was that the object was the star Regulus (magnitude 1.3). This conclusion was supported by the movement and duration of the sighting, which were consistent with the position of the star at the time. Capt. G. L. Van Buskirk, a flight service clearance officer at Hamilton AFB, concurred with the assessment that the object was an unusually bright star.