Project 10073 Record Card — 3 Oct 60 Sighting, Wheaton, Maryland

This document contains the official record and correspondence regarding a UFO sighting reported on October 3, 1960, near Wheaton, Maryland. The witness, an electronics engineer with the US Navy Bureau of Ships, reported observing a stationary, shapeless object with an extremely bright yellowish cast for approximately three minutes. The object was estimated to be ten times the diameter of an average star, though its intensity diminished to the brightness of a normal star over a five-second interval before it disappeared. The witness, noted as being fairly reliable with an amateur interest in astronomy, observed the object while driving. Following the report, the Air Force conducted an investigation, querying the US Weather Bureau, the Air Weather Service, and local air traffic control agencies. No other sightings were reported in the Washington, D.C. area. The Naval Observatory suggested the object might have been a meteor, though they expressed doubt that a meteor would remain visible for three minutes. The final official conclusion reached by the Air Force was that the object was likely the star Fomalhaut, potentially appearing brighter than usual due to atmospheric refraction. Alternatively, investigators suggested the witness may have observed the landing light of an aircraft on a straight-in approach to one of the nearby airports, which would account for the stationary appearance. The document includes a Project 10073 record card, a formal letter from Lt. Colonel Lawrence J. Tacker to the witness requesting further information, and the teletype transmission of the sighting details.