Project 10073 Record Card and Related Correspondence — Sighting of 26 September 1960

This document collection details the investigation by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) into a UFO sighting reported by a military aircraft crew on 26 September 1960, south of Midway Islands. The crew reported observing a round or oval object that appeared to climb from water level, change colors between red, green, and white, and move in a manner that appeared to dance or rush toward and away from the observer. The object was observed for approximately four minutes. The report was initially received by ATIC on 27 September 1960. Following a request for further information from PACAF, the crew provided additional details, noting that the object was sighted at a distance of two miles and later at twenty miles, and that no pictures were taken. The ATIC analysis, signed by Major Robert J. Friend and Colonel Philip G. Evans, concluded that the sighting was likely an instance of atmospheric refraction of the star Arcturus. The investigators explained that refraction occurs when light passes through air of varying densities, causing images to twinkle, change color and intensity, and appear to move or change shape. They noted that Arcturus was at an azimuth corresponding to the reported sighting and would have been near the horizon at the time. The report also references a separate sighting on 18 September 1960, involving an elliptical, football-sized object that left a trail and was bright orange, which was analyzed as a meteor of the 'fireball' class. The document includes various message forms and continuation sheets documenting the communication between PACAF and ATIC regarding these events, emphasizing the military's systematic approach to evaluating such reports through the lens of known astronomical and atmospheric phenomena.