Bay St. Louis, MississippiMay 1954

On the night of May 19, 1954, three people in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi watched an unusual object in the sky for about one hour. The object appeared roughly the size of a bright star, or possibly twice that size. It had a reddish yellow color and a round shape. The witnesses observed it in the northeastern sky at about 30 degrees elevation (roughly one-third of the way up from the horizon). The object moved up and down and from side to side. The night was clear, with the moon and stars visible.

The Air Force investigation file notes that the witnesses reported their observations with practical consistency in their details. When investigators compared the reported position and movement of the object to the location of the star Arcturus on that date, they found that Arcturus occupied nearly the exact position the witnesses had described. The file indicates that the investigator suggested the sighting might have been due to the reflection of lights on moisture in the air and on the water of the bay. However, the file notes that one witness was skeptical of this explanation. Some difficulty arose during the investigation regarding exactly how many separate observations were reported, though the file indicates at least three people saw the event.

The Air Force concluded that the object remained unidentified. The full case file, as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below across nine pages.