Correspondence regarding UFO sighting near Texarkana, Texas, June 5, 1964

This document collection contains correspondence between John J. Gilheany of Trident Engineering Associates, Inc., and Dr. J. Allen Hynek of Northwestern University, regarding a UFO sighting reported by a woman and three Air Force cadets. On June 5, 1964, near Texarkana, Texas, the witnesses observed a red, shimmering sphere hovering at approximately 5,000 feet. The witnesses, who were traveling from the Air Force Academy to Florida, stopped their vehicle to observe the object before it departed on a lateral track. The incident was not officially reported at the time. In his letter dated October 7, 1964, Gilheany shares details of the sighting with Hynek, noting that the witnesses were of above-average intelligence. The correspondence also discusses the development of 'Moon Blink' equipment, a project intended to monitor transient lunar phenomena using orthicon systems and telescopes. In a subsequent letter dated January 8, 1965, Dr. Hynek responds to the witness, suggesting that the object observed was likely the crescent moon, citing astronomical data and the tendency for atmospheric conditions to distort such observations. The witness, in her letter dated December 9, 1964, describes the object as a large, luminous red-orange blob of fiery mass that appeared to rotate, and expresses her curiosity about the nature of the phenomenon.