Project 10073 Record Card — 27 Feb 61 Sighting, Herndon, Virginia

On February 27, 1961, a group of six enlisted men stationed at a Nike site near Herndon, Virginia, observed an unidentified aerial object for approximately one hour. The sighting occurred between 2015 and 2115 EST. The witnesses, all assigned to B Battery, 1st Missile Battalion, 71st Artillery, reported seeing an oval-shaped object that appeared to be the size of a pea. The object was initially sighted above the horizon as a red glow, which subsequently changed colors to yellow, orange, and white. The observers used a telescope with 32x magnification to track the object, which was estimated to be 40 to 50 miles away. According to the report, the object appeared to rise rapidly from 10 degrees to approximately 14 degrees above the horizon before moving directly west and disappearing below the horizon as a dull yellow light. The witnesses noted that no sound was emitted by the object and no maneuvers were observed other than the described rise and westward movement. The report was compiled by the 35th Artillery Brigade (AD) at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, and forwarded to the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The official conclusion reached by the evaluating agency was that the object was the planet Venus. The report states that the planet was in the position indicated for the object and was at its brightest at the time of the sighting. The observed color changes and the apparent rise were attributed to the object's proximity to the horizon. No physical evidence was recovered, and no interception action was taken by military forces during the event.