Project 10073 Record Card and Incident Report — Duluth, Minnesota, 14 February 1963

On February 14, 1963, a civilian witness observed an unidentified aerial object while driving ten miles west of Duluth, Minnesota. The witness described the object as a round, bluish-white light with a long, illuminated fiery tail. The sighting lasted approximately six to seven seconds, with the object moving overhead and culminating in a fiery disintegration at an elevation of 45 degrees in the northeast. The witness, a housewife, was interviewed by a Major from DUADS and deemed reliable. The report was formally submitted via military channels to NORAD and the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC). While the witness initially suspected the object might be a decaying satellite, the official conclusion reached by the evaluating agency was that the object was an astronomical meteor, specifically a bolide. The report notes that the duration of the event was too short for satellite decay and suggests the witness was likely unfamiliar with the visual characteristics of a disintegrating meteor. Additional reports of the object were received by an Austin radio station and the Minnesota Highway Patrol, with accounts indicating the object traveled from northern Iowa into southwest Wisconsin before disappearing over the horizon.