Project 10073 Record Card — 26 October 1962

On 26 October 1962, at 1439Z, the crew of a KC-135 aircraft (identification number Diana 85) observed an unidentified aerial phenomenon while flying over the Pacific at 24.14N 151.26W. The aircraft was at an altitude of 35,000 feet, heading 054 degrees true. The observers, identified as Colonel Holly Anderson and Major A. E. Casperson, reported seeing a bright orange, horseshoe-shaped object for approximately 1.5 seconds. The object was estimated to be one-third the diameter of the moon. The sighting began when the observers noticed a bright flash on the horizon, followed by the appearance of the object just below the border of the moon, which was in a crescent shape and positioned 1-2 degrees above the horizon. A dark patch was noted on the moon at the 10 o'clock position. The object did not move and eventually faded out. The navigator attempted to use a sextant to track the object, but it had already disappeared. The official conclusion reached by the project evaluators was that the sighting was likely an astronomical phenomenon, possibly a mirage associated with the star Regulus or atmospheric refraction of the moon as it was rising.