Project 10073 Record Card and Related Correspondence — Littleton, Colorado, August 1960

This document contains a Project 10073 Record Card detailing a UFO sighting in Littleton, Colorado, on August 20, 1960. The witness reported a light-white, basketball-sized, tear-drop-shaped object with an extending arm featuring two lights. The object was observed for 20 to 30 minutes, appearing to descend very slowly. The official conclusion reached by the Aerospace Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) was that the sighting was likely the planet Jupiter, which was visible at the time in the reported direction and elevation. The file also includes extensive supplementary documentation regarding other sightings in the region, specifically in Red Bluff, California, during August 1960. These reports involve multiple witnesses, including California Highway Patrol officers, who observed large, oblong, glowing objects with red and white lights. The Air Force investigated these reports, attributing them to temperature inversions causing the refraction of common objects, such as the planet Mars. The file contains correspondence between the Air Force and private organizations like the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO) and the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), as well as internal military communications regarding the investigation of these events. The documentation highlights the Air Force's efforts to coordinate with local authorities and weather services to provide rational explanations for the reported phenomena, while also noting the limitations of the data provided by witnesses.