Project 10073 Record: Sighting of August 3, 1966, Wilmette, Illinois

This document details a UFO sighting report from August 3, 1966, in Wilmette, Illinois, involving two witnesses. The witnesses reported observing a bright, flickering object that appeared stationary, which they later viewed through 7x50 binoculars. The object was described as having a green dome or flare above, a red dome or flare below, and a horizontal row of lights between. Later that morning, the witness reported seeing three groups of three objects. An investigator visited the site and determined that the sightings were likely astronomical in nature. The first object was identified as the star Capella, and the subsequent objects were identified as the planetary cluster of Jupiter, Venus, and Mars. The investigator concluded that the unusual visual characteristics reported by the witnesses, such as the tripling of the objects and the diffraction colors, were caused by the witnesses observing the lights through a screened window. The investigator demonstrated this effect to the witnesses using streetlights, and they agreed that the appearance matched their observations of the objects. The report concludes with considerable assurance that the sighting involved astronomical objects only.