Unidentified Flying Object Report — Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 25 May 1960

This document is a Project 10073 record card and accompanying official report regarding an Unidentified Flying Object sighting in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on May 25, 1960. The observer, a 35-year-old registered engineer and assistant professor at Middle Tennessee State College, reported seeing a smooth, disc-shaped object that resembled a very bright blue star, similar to Venus. The observer, who had an interest in astronomy, initially viewed the object with the naked eye and subsequently used a 15-power telescope. The object appeared to approach the observer, growing larger and flashing brighter from within. After five minutes, the central object faded and was replaced by six or seven small lights resembling a constellation, which then faded out after one minute. The report was filed by the Headquarters of Sewart Air Force Base and the 839th Air Base Group. The official conclusion reached by the military investigators was that the sighting was a balloon in flight that had burst. This determination was based on the alignment of the object's flight path with local wind directions, the duration of the sighting, and the distance traveled. The report explicitly notes that the incident was documented primarily due to the high qualifications and reliability of the observer, rather than any belief that the object was of an anomalous nature.