Sighting Report — Seward, Pennsylvania, December 1964

This document contains a sighting report and subsequent correspondence regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon observed in Seward, Pennsylvania, in December 1964. The witness reported observing a single object in flight to the West for a duration of 2-3 seconds. The object was described as having a white or ivory glow, resembling a combination of a shooting star and a carbon arc light, with no tail and no audible noise. The witness initially suspected a satellite re-entry. The Air Force, through the Aerial Phenomena Branch at Wright-Patterson AFB, investigated the report. In a letter dated February 4, 1965, Major Hector Quintanilla, Jr. informed the witness that the object was classified as a meteor. The Air Force explained that satellite re-entries are distinguished from meteor observations by their direction of flight and duration; specifically, a satellite re-entry over Pennsylvania would typically exhibit an easterly component and a longer duration than the 2-3 seconds reported by the witness. The Air Force expressed appreciation for the report and noted its continued interest in such observations due to their similarity to satellite decay characteristics.