Project 10073 Record — Sells, Arizona, 28 February 1966

This document is a compilation of records and correspondence related to various UFO sightings reported to the U.S. Air Force, primarily under Project Blue Book, during early 1966. The central case involves a sighting in Sells, Arizona, on 28 February 1966. Three witnesses, including a police officer and a former U.S. government investigator, observed a brilliant white, circular object that appeared to have flames radiating from its circumference. The object was initially stationary near Kitt Peak Observatory, then moved south, performed up-and-down maneuvers, and eventually climbed. The Air Force concluded the object was the planet Venus, which was at its peak stellar magnitude of -4.3 at the time. The report includes internal memos from the Pentagon inquiring whether a Soviet Venus probe might have caused the planet to appear unusual, which was dismissed. Other documents in the file include a report from a civilian in Victoria, Australia, regarding a sighting of a large, blunt-shaped object in February 1966, which the Air Force declined to investigate as it occurred outside the continental United States. Additionally, the file contains a report from Medford, Massachusetts, regarding a sonic boom and a parachute-shaped object, which was identified as a weather balloon. A separate case involving a photograph taken in Phoenix, Arizona, in March 1967 is also included; the Air Force photo analysis branch concluded the image was likely a film defect or processing error, noting that the city lights in the same photo showed signs of triple exposure due to camera movement, while the object did not, suggesting it was not a real object in the sky. The collection provides a snapshot of the investigative process used by Project Blue Book to categorize reports as astronomical phenomena, weather balloons, or other identifiable sources.