Bay City, MichiganMarch 1953

On the evening of March 23, 1953, a civilian astronomer in Bay City, Michigan saw something unusual cross his bedroom window. At 11:32 p.m., while lying in bed, he noticed a greenish, glowing object move slowly across the lower portion of the left window. The object was much larger than Venus but smaller than the moon, with an elongated, elliptical shape tilted in the direction of its travel. Its outline was soft and hazy, as though seen through fog, and it appeared to wobble slightly as it moved. The entire observation lasted about four seconds.

The witness moved quickly. He counted the duration of the sighting by the method used in photographic dark rooms, then immediately called the telephone company to verify the time: 11:32:20 p.m. He jotted down notes on the object's trajectory, color, size, and appearance. He then observed the moon through the same window and compared it to what he had seen. The next morning, he measured his room carefully and drew a detailed floor plan showing his exact position and the object's path across his field of view. He noted that the sky was hazy, which gave the moon a soft outline similar to the object he had witnessed.

The witness found no conventional explanation. He lived in open countryside and was familiar with meteors and meteor showers. He found this object very different. The sky was hazy with a thin overcast, the windows were closed so he heard no sound, and no other witnesses were present. There was no photograph. The Air Force investigation reviewed the file but found no explanation that fit the facts, marking the case unidentified.

The full case file, 15 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.