Akron, OhioJanuary 1961

On the night of January 21, 1961, several residents of the Akron, Ohio area reported seeing an unusual object in the sky. The witnesses described it as a red-orange circular or plate-like shape with what looked like a flat or cut-off top. The object appeared much larger than the moon and hovered low on the horizon, to the north and west of the observers. Multiple sightings were reported between 10:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., with the object visible for roughly 10 to 15 minutes before it disappeared in the same location where it had first appeared.

The Air Force investigated the case in March 1961, interviewing the witnesses and collecting weather data. Investigators found that the accounts were consistent across different observers who were not connected to each other. However, they concluded that all the sightings resulted from a misidentification of the moon as it was setting.

The case file explains that atmospheric conditions on that evening made the moon appear distorted. The moon was approaching its first quarter, meaning only about 23 percent of its surface was illuminated. When the moon is near the horizon, light passes through more of the atmosphere, causing refraction, a bending of light rays that changes how the object appears. Because of layered atmospheric conditions and temperature inversions, this refraction was unusually pronounced. The distortion made the lower edge of the moon appear raised relative to the upper edge, giving it an elliptical shape with a flat or "cut off" top, exactly as the witnesses described. Additionally, objects near the horizon often appear larger than they really are, because people can compare them with familiar objects on the ground.

The Air Force noted that moonset at Akron on January 21, 1961 occurred at 11:04 p.m. (2304 hours). All reported sightings happened between 10:30 p.m. and 11:05 p.m., clustering near the exact time of moonset. None of the reports came after 11:05 p.m. The moon's position, just north of west, matched the direction the witnesses reported for the object. The weather at the airport that evening included stratiform clouds and visible moisture, conditions that would amplify atmospheric refraction. The Air Force concluded that the apparently irregular shape, the apparent increase in size, and the weather conditions all contributed to the misidentification.

The file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives and consists of 65 scanned pages.