Biloxi, MississippiNovember 1957

Insufficient Data

Summary

On the night of November 14, 1957, two civilians in Biloxi, Mississippi spotted a bright, round object in the sky that changed shape as they watched it. The object was much brighter than aircraft landing lights and three times the size of a star. At first it appeared round, but gradually flattened on top. The witnesses observed it for approximately one hour as it drifted slightly to the right before disappearing over the horizon.

The observers were both found to be sincere and reliable. One of them took six-minute time exposure photographs of the object, which showed a reflection on the water. Sketches made by a family member documented the object's changing appearance. Weather conditions that night were clear, with visibility extending to 29,000 feet. Wind data was recorded at multiple altitudes to help analysts assess the sighting.

The investigator from the Air Force base training branch considered the possibility that the object was the planet Venus. An astronomical chart reviewed for the case showed Venus to be at the exact location in the sky where the witnesses said they saw the object at the time of the sighting. A newspaper in New Orleans had also reported a bright object in the region and identified it as Venus. Based on this evidence, the investigator concluded that Venus was a plausible explanation for what the witnesses saw.

The case file contains 17 pages of records held by the National Archives, including photographs, sketches, weather data, and investigator notes.

Reported location

Biloxi, Mississippi

Date of incident

November 1957

State / country

MS / US

Page count

17 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 30

Yd A | 4 Tad | PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD ls REE ; 3 IL o- Fi | § 1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS o H Bis ’ i or £5 : : : 0 Wos Balloon | 4 14 November 19557 Biloxi, Mississippi : ht 414 Solio 4 3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION DTT Se i ¢ O Was Aircraft i : TE TEAR SR NRO die itil ye O Ground-Rodor OQ Probably Aircraft 4 — ; IaY ats . 1 (> . aay eel H = oMYT____ 10/0 1007 a J lest 0 Air-Intercept Rador D Possibly Aircraft 5. PHOTOS , 6. SOURCE ¥ XWas Astronomical VEIIUS Des DO Probobly Astronomical i : @:No Civilian i 0 Possibly Astronomical ¢ 7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 2. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE BN : 0 Insufficient Dato for Evaluation 0 Unknown FUL EE SR ER RTOS SE «7 RECS HU TO | AREISRRRSHERR, CAS US A : 10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS Round object, 3 times the size of a Astro chart snows Venus to be star, Brighter than a/c landing at the exact location given at lights, The object was round at first, the time of the sighting, then changed shape until it was flat | on top. Much brighter than anything : ever seen by the observers, ATIC FORM 329 (REV 25 SEP 52) se RE TTT A ts ar a AS cos iio | fic: 0 i A id y BY