Project 10073 Record Card — East Point, Georgia, 1 December 1962

This document contains a Project 10073 record card and associated correspondence regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon reported on December 1, 1962, in East Point, Georgia. The primary witness, an amateur astronomer, was observing the moon through a telescope with a 46.66-inch focal length and a Ramsden eyepiece. During the observation, the witness noted a bright spot appearing against the black portion of the moon, which subsequently increased in brilliance, turned bright red, and moved off the lunar surface, gaining velocity. The witness reported the event to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and was in contact with Jack Hudnell of the West Palm Beach Moonwatch Team. The official evaluation by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) concluded that the object was a balloon. The report includes meteorological data from the Air Weather Service, specifically surface weather observations from Atlanta and wind-aloft computation sheets from Athens, Georgia, to support the conclusion that the sighting was a balloon reflecting sunlight at sunset, which caused a characteristic color shift as it moved into the earth's shadow. The correspondence includes a letter from Alex B. Geddes, a Moonwatch Recorder, suggesting this explanation to the witness and offering to forward the report to Dr. J. Allen Hynek at Northwestern University if the explanation was deemed unsatisfactory.