UFO Sighting Report — Traverse City, Michigan, March 1968

This document is a collection of reports and correspondence regarding a UFO sighting in Traverse City, Michigan, on the night of March 5-6, 1968. The primary report, transmitted via Air Force staff message, details the observations of multiple witnesses, including a housewife and an Airman First Class (A1C) from the 752nd Radar Squadron at Empire AFS. The witnesses described a round, saucer-shaped object with a large hump in the middle and a white spot resembling a window. The object was reported to be blue, green, and red, with colors that changed continuously. It was observed for approximately one hour, moving slowly with upward and downward motions, and was eventually seen at a very low altitude above the trees. The Air Force conducted an investigation, contacting the Traverse City Flight Service Facility and the Minneapolis ARTCC, neither of which could confirm the presence of any aircraft or balloons in the area. The State Police were also involved in searching for the object. Despite the witnesses' reports, the official conclusion reached by the Air Force was that the phenomenon was likely an astronomical sighting, suggesting it could have been a bright star or planet such as Capella, Procyon, Castor, Betelgeuse, or Jupiter. The documentation includes multiple AF Form 117 sighting questionnaires completed by the witnesses, as well as internal Air Force communications regarding the reporting process and the subsequent forwarding of the information to the University of Colorado for further study.