Declassified UFO / UAP Document
Project 10073 Record Card and Associated Report — Danville, Illinois, April 1962
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AI-Generated Summary
An amateur astronomer reported a luminous object in Danville, Illinois, in April 1962. Military investigators identified the object as a high-altitude weather balloon released from Peoria.
On April 26, 1962, an amateur astronomer in Danville, Illinois, observed a luminous, opal-colored object while using a 12 1/2-inch reflecting telescope to search for a comet. The witness, a 46-year-old photo finisher and member of the Danville Astronomical Society, described the object as circular and approximately twice the size of Venus when viewed through the telescope. The object appeared to have a light at its base and moved north with increasing elevation for approximately three minutes before suddenly disintegrating into luminous particles and disappearing. The sighting was reported to the military under Project 10073. Captain Robert E. Booth of the 3361st Instructor Squadron at Chanute AFB investigated the report. He concluded that the object was an upper air observation balloon released from Peoria, Illinois, at 2300 hours. Meteorological data indicated winds at 50,000 feet were 23 knots, which would have carried such a balloon over the Danville area at the time of the sighting. Captain Booth noted that the witness's description of the object's appearance in the telescope was consistent with a balloon of approximately 52 inches in diameter. Other witnesses in the area were interviewed, and all were considered reliable.
SUDDEN DISINTEGRATION INTO PARTICLES, LUMINOUS IN NATURE (BY TELESCOPE) TO NAKED EYE IT JUST GOES OUT.
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Official Assessment
Believes that the ground sighting was a upper air observation ballon released by facilities mentioned in par J above.
The object was identified as an upper air observation balloon released from Peoria, Illinois. The witness's observation of the object's size and behavior was consistent with a balloon at high altitude.