UFO Observation & Photograph — St. Paul, Minnesota, 27 December 1966

This document details a UFO sighting and subsequent photographic analysis involving a 17-year-old witness in St. Paul, Minnesota, on December 27, 1966. The witness reported observing a silver, dish-shaped object, approximately 6 to 10 feet in diameter, which descended from cloud cover, hovered for 10 to 20 seconds at an altitude of roughly 150 feet, and then ascended rapidly back into the clouds. The witness captured the event using a Polaroid camera. The sighting was initially reported to the KSTP News Department on December 30, 1966, and later to the Air Force. The Air Force investigation, conducted under Project Blue Book, included a formal photo analysis report (NR 67-56) dated July 14, 1967. The analysis concluded that the image was not a processing or development blemish but an 'apparent object.' The analysts described the object as consisting of two shallow, truncated cones placed base to base, with smaller, darker, steeper cones protruding from the top and bottom. Faint striations resembling 'spokes' were noted on the upper surface. Despite the analysis, the Air Force concluded that due to a lack of clarity and the inability to perform range estimation, it was impossible to positively identify the object. Capt. John M. Vlahos, the project officer, remarked in his notes that the image 'looks like a photograph of a flying saucer.' The file includes weather data requests and reports from the Environmental Technical Applications Center to support the evaluation, confirming the overcast conditions at the time of the sighting.