Project 10073 Record Card and Correspondence — Plainview, L.I., New York, July 1963

On July 15, 1963, a civilian in Plainview, Long Island, New York, captured photographs while taking test exposures in preparation for an upcoming solar eclipse. The individual was using a 3-inch telescope with a 1.5-inch finder and had attached a 35mm camera to the finder without the camera's lens. After developing the film, the witness observed an unidentified object in the images and submitted them to the Air Technical Intelligence Center (later the Foreign Technology Division) for analysis. The case was processed under Project 10073. The Foreign Technology Division conducted an analysis of the photographs, which included three 8x10 inch prints, one 7x10 inch print, and five 5x4 inch negatives. The witness had numbered the figures on the photographs, identifying them as #1 (the UFO), #2 (dirt), and #3 (scratches). The official Air Force conclusion was that the primary object, labeled #1, was a lens flare caused by light inter-reflection between the lens surfaces. The other markings were identified as water spots and scratches on the negative. Major Maston M. Jacks of the Public Information Division formally communicated these findings to the witness on July 30, 1963, and returned the photographs.