Project Blue Book Sighting Report — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, July 26, 1967

This document contains a series of records regarding a UFO sighting reported by Jon McDonald in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on July 26, 1967. McDonald, an amateur astronomer with ten years of experience, reported observing a bright object at approximately 9:30 PM. He described the object as initially appearing like a bright star, which, when viewed through binoculars, appeared fuzzy or blurred before becoming clearer. He noted that the object remained stationary, changed brightness, and appeared to emit 'angle hair' material. He further reported that a red ball of light separated from the main object and moved toward the Northwest, followed by the appearance of three to four smaller silver objects that moved away at high speed. McDonald attempted to verify the sighting by contacting the Allegheny Airport tower, the Pittsburgh Press, and the Buhl Planetarium, the latter of which suggested the object was a weather balloon. The Air Force investigated the report and issued a formal response on August 18, 1967, signed by Lt. Colonel Barnett B. Young. The official conclusion was that the witness had observed the planet Venus. The Air Force justified this by referencing the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac 1967, stating that at 9:30 PM on the date in question, Venus would have been at an azimuth of 275 degrees and an elevation of eight degrees, near the horizon. The response also addressed the witness's observation of blurriness through binoculars, attributing it to spherical aberration common in binocular lenses.