Project 10073 Record Card — Herkimer, New York, 25 Sep 63

This document contains a Project 10073 record card and associated Air Force incoming message regarding a UFO sighting reported on September 25, 1963, near Herkimer, New York. A 46-year-old civilian farmer reported observing a stationary, round object with flashing red and green lights for approximately 30 minutes. The object was positioned about two degrees above the horizon to the north. The initial assessment on the record card suggested the phenomenon might be an aurora, noting a subsidence inversion at 3,000 feet. However, subsequent verification by the Rome Air Development Center at Griffiss Air Force Base identified the object as the Echo 1 satellite, which was making visible passes in the area at the time of the observation. The document also includes supplementary material from 'Sky and Telescope' magazine (November and December 1963 issues) discussing actual auroral activity observed in September 1963, providing context for why observers might have initially misidentified celestial or satellite phenomena as unusual aerial activity.