Clarkston, MichiganNovember 1959

Insufficient Data

Summary

On a cold, clear night in late November or early December 1959, a couple in Clarkston, Michigan saw a bright object in the sky and took a photograph. The object was egg-shaped, about the size of a grapefruit, and glowed four times brighter than any star. The rear of the object left a trail of light as it moved. The witnesses watched it travel from north to south across roughly a 50-degree arc of sky, at an angle of about 50 degrees above the horizon. The sighting lasted between one and two hours before the object faded from view.

The Air Force received the report very late. The witnesses did not contact anyone until April 22, 1960, more than six months after the sighting. This long delay made the investigation difficult because the exact date and time were uncertain. However, Air Force officers at Selfridge Air Force Base in Michigan used weather records to narrow down the probable date. They determined that the sighting most likely occurred on November 28, 1959, when the first snow of the season fell and stuck to the ground.

The investigators then looked into whether a weather balloon could explain the sighting. The Flint Meteorology Station released two weather balloons each day. The Air Force learned that on November 23, 1959, one balloon failed to burst as expected. Instead it developed a slow leak at 80,000 feet and drifted with the wind. About 90 percent of balloons released from Flint fall within five miles of Clarkston. The balloon would have reached sunlight at an altitude between 40,000 and 50,000 feet, which could have made it glow brightly. Based on this evidence, the Air Force concluded the object was most likely a weather balloon.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 7 pages.

Reported location

Clarkston, Michigan

Date of incident

November 1959

State / country

MI / US

Page count

7 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 37

PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD [1 pate 2. LOCATION RA 12. CONCLUSIONS a8 ios. Ballogn < or ksto Michi AX Probably Balloon Louoap Doc 590 dClarspton, Yaohogaw. IE Read) Boioon 3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF CBSERYATION Local BCD) a CR A B Ground- Visual 0 Ground-Rador 5 Brough Riverats Tea ed be PO ee A re A RN 0 Air Visudl D Air-intarcept Radar O Possibly Aircraft 5. PHOTCS 8. SOURCE 0 Was Astronomical TX Yes 0 Probably Astronomical “TX No Civilian 0 Possibly Astronomical 7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE C0) 3 Yee tN a SAN 0 Insufficient Data for Eveluation i 0 Unknown l - 2 hrs one N to S 10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS ’ : Whites, egg-shaped obj, size of grapefruit, The obj sighted probably was a {four times brighter light than any star, rear| weather balloon. This rpt was not of obj left a trail of light. submitted until 6 or 7 months after : ; the sighting and then tle info was : limited. 2 mn i — x Rr i | @ (SHEAR #50 2 Ty Vis ~ “ a A b2] “ut Q > i a7 +) m 5 po a) a, 5 E a | = = LANE EPR Eg a?) =" Nr Laba fs G3 14 ee © a, o [= RS ee 2 4 4 2] =" > he Nm YT 0 pc) { ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52) | q, H ys ji fe] ~r ’ A a Se NE dal Shi ti