Declassified UFO / UAP Document
Project 10073 Record — Manistee, Michigan, March 1967
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AI-Generated Summary
A March 1967 sighting of a stationary, multi-colored object over Lake Michigan by Coast Guard personnel was officially identified by the Air Force as the planet Venus, exacerbated by a temperature inversion.
This document is a declassified Air Force staff message reporting a UFO sighting that occurred on March 12, 1967, near the Manistee Coast Guard Station in Michigan. Two witnesses, James E. Holmes and Davie G. Gross of the USCG, observed a round, white, red, and green object in the sky over Lake Michigan. The object was estimated to be the size of a half-dollar held at arm's length and remained stationary for 15 to 20 minutes before fading from view. The report includes detailed meteorological data, noting clear skies with 15 miles of visibility and a strong temperature inversion from the surface up to 5,000 feet. Major Jesse D. Sowell, a weather forecaster at 34 ADIV, evaluated the report and concluded that the object was the planet Venus, which was positioned at an azimuth of 284 degrees at the time. The report explicitly attributes the sighting to the atmospheric conditions caused by the temperature inversion.
COMMANDER, JESSE D. SOWELL, MAJOR, USAF. WEATHER FORECASTER AT 34 ADIV SAID THERE WAS A SURFACE TEMPERATURE INVERSION AT THE TIME OF THE SIGHTING AND SAID THAT THIS WAS THE PROBABLE CAUSE OF THIS SIGHTING.
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Official Assessment
Venus was on an azimuth of 284 degrees at the approximate time of the sighting. There was a surface temperature inversion at the time of the sighting and said that this was the probable cause of this sighting.
The object was identified as the planet Venus, with the sighting conditions influenced by a strong temperature inversion.
Witnesses
- Holmes, James E.USCGManistee Coast Guard Station
- Gross, Davie G.USCGManistee Coast Guard Station
Key Persons
- Jesse D. SowellMajor, USAF, Weather Forecaster at 34 ADIV