Project 10073 Record Card and Related Correspondence — September-October 1961

This document collection contains a series of reports and correspondence related to Project 10073, documenting various unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) sightings reported in late 1961. The primary incident, recorded on 30 September 1961, involved reports from multiple Coast Guard stations in the Cape May and Atlantic City area. Witnesses described a 'whitish blue light' moving in streaks from east to west, which was later identified as Northern lights. The file also includes several press clippings and reports of other sightings, such as a tear-drop-shaped object spotted by two pilots in Bloomfield, New Jersey, and a triangular UFO observed by Mr. and Mrs. Seal on Route 90. Another report mentions a 16mm film of an elongated UFO in Waynesboro, Virginia, which was turned over to NICAP for analysis. A summary table of sightings from 1 to 14 October 1961 categorizes various events, with many attributed to astronomical phenomena like meteors, sun dogs, or Jupiter, while others remained classified as 'insufficient data' or 'other' (such as light refraction or contrails). The document concludes with a letter from Major William T. Coleman, Jr., of the USAF, responding to a civilian inquiry regarding a sighting in Duluth, Minnesota, stating that the Air Force had no record of such an event in that area at that time. The collection also includes an educational article from the August 26, 1961, issue of Science News Letter, which provides context on astronomical observations, specifically regarding Jupiter and its satellites, likely intended to assist in identifying potential misidentifications of celestial bodies.