Declassified UFO / UAP Document
Project 10073 Record Card and Naval Message — Sighting Report 22 Sep 61
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AI-Generated Summary
A pilot reported a 'ball of fire' over Alaska in 1961, which was officially identified by ATIC as the planet Venus distorted by atmospheric conditions.
This document consists of a Project 10073 Record Card and an associated Naval Message regarding a CIRVIS (Communication Instructions for Reporting Vital Intelligence Sightings) report filed on September 22, 1961. The report details a sighting by a pilot flying a Cessna 180 over Alaska at coordinates 67 degrees 38 minutes North, 163 degrees 25 minutes West. The pilot, flying at an altitude of 2,500 feet, observed a 'ball of fire' with horizontal white streamers located to the west of his position. The object appeared stationary and remained visible for approximately four minutes. The weather conditions were described as having a high overcast with unlimited visibility in the quadrant of the sighting. The official evaluation conducted by ATIC concluded that the object was the planet Venus. The report suggests that the witness's description of a red ball of fire with streamers was the result of atmospheric refraction and distortion of the planet, and that the eventual disappearance of the object was due to the planet setting.
THE BALL OF FIRE BECAME HORIZONTALLY OBLONG AND SLOWLY DISSIPATED.
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Official Assessment
Object was probably planet Venus. Cause of misidentification was probably fact that planet was distorted and discolored due to atmospheric refraction.
The sighting was identified as the planet Venus, with the appearance of streamers and fire attributed to atmospheric refraction and distortion.