Columbus, OhioJuly 1961

Unidentified

Summary

On the evening of July 29, 1961, a civilian in Columbus, Ohio, reported seeing an unidentified object in the night sky. The witness described movement from northeast to southwest during an observation that lasted several minutes.

Air Force investigators checked the position and timing of the sighting against known celestial bodies. They found that the planet Jupiter was in the location the witness had described. The investigators also noted that this same witness had reported another similar sighting on July 1 or 2, 1961, with comparable characteristics.

The Air Force concluded the object was most likely Jupiter. However, the investigators acknowledged their determination was based on limited evidence. They noted that the witness had been uncooperative during the interview, making it difficult to gather detailed information about what was seen.

The full case file, comprising 8 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.

Reported location

Columbus, Ohio

Date of incident

July 1961

State / country

OH / US

Page count

8 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unidentified

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 43

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 8

View transcribed text

: 3 A Tmo m— SAUER
)
i )
i
i
RT PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD
SE ———. ho. or ne en el er ee Se eee EH lll A A 0 DB soit re Sh et
I. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS
al Ag ay h ST 0 Was Bolloon
20) Ty ~ Cay yymni oc ale
29 Jui ©l LOLWNONE, 010 a) dari Balloon
3. DATE-TIME GROUP "3. TYPE OF OBSERVATION Ld del fect ad
2103 ; ; . 0 Was Aircraft
Ot iiss | B:Ground-Vi sual 0 Ground-Radar QO Probably Aircraft
CMT. 20020027 a Air Visual a Air-Intercept Radar D Possibly Airerait
et. TT TT TT TO NR RR I RT a A EE AR EER WT TEL 3 UT oY eT Ee RI RR TR ER TA ae) (0 ¢ p) aT
; 5. "PROTOS ! 8. SOURCE GO. Was Astronomical Jub JER :
] C Yes f OD Probably Astronomical
XG Na | Civilian 01 Possibly Astronomical
: sail, Inaradlal ala aa  Dopacyae
x 7. LENGTH OF O3SZRYATION | 8, NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE L134 Other DBE io Lira ay
i O Insufficient Date for Evaluation
SE Pa | 4 Belek ha 0 Unknown
eo i BLES d b= oW
J SHS
| 10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING Ob Jt in signe JL L/e DXS | COMMENTS Reported duration indicates thdt \
: movenent Sz-5SW, objt was an astronomical body. 4A check
indicates that planet Jupiter was in
| position reported. However, individual daki:
report was so belligerent that he could
| give very littel info. Cojt also reportdd
; by this individual 1-2 Jul 61 with sane
characteristics. Case categorized as Astiro
/ . - . + . 4
(Jupiter) on Limited evidence,
: ATIC FORM 323 (RIV 25 SEP 52)
JHE FECTS RRO Lo CORES PO eR CHAN RA ERP Ng 1
§ { /

/ 8

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28993701