PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD - Humboldt, Sask, Canada - 17 Feb 61

This document is a Project 10073 record card and associated field report detailing a sighting that occurred on February 17, 1961, in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Canada. At approximately 16:17 local time, a witness observed a bright red-orange object in the sky. The object was described as being the size of a pea at arm's length, with a trail four times the size of the object itself. The witness, a student at the Humboldt Collegiate Institute, observed the object for six to eight minutes as it traveled in a west-northwesterly direction at a high rate of speed. The witness used 7x50 binoculars to track the object, noting an intense flame similar to a jet's exhaust and observing a smaller, dark object that appeared to fall away from the main body while it was spinning. The weather conditions at the time were reported as having scattered clouds, a temperature of 45 degrees Fahrenheit, and excellent visibility. The investigator noted that the sighting was reported in the Saskatoon Star and that other witnesses were mentioned but could not be contacted. The official conclusion reached by the project was that the object was likely the re-entry of 1961 Gamma 4. This assessment was based on the object's color, its straight flight path, and the fact that it was breaking up, which the report characterizes as typical of re-entry phenomena. The report explicitly notes that the duration of the sighting was considered 'quite excessive' for a standard meteor, further supporting the re-entry hypothesis.