Columbus, OhioSeptember 1961

On a clear night in September 1961, a resident of Columbus, Ohio saw a bright object moving across the sky. The observer was sitting outside, smoking a cigar, when he looked up and noticed the object. It appeared as a light, brighter than the brightest stars, with a shiny appearance. The object was much larger than a star and resembled a satellite, except that it was brighter and larger than any satellite the observer had seen.

The object moved from the southwest toward the west, traveling slightly north as it moved across the sky. The observer watched it for about 15 minutes as it traveled in a steady, slow path. He estimated it was moving faster than a satellite but slower than typical aircraft. When asked how far away the object was, he said it was very far from Columbus. The object did not stop, change direction suddenly, change brightness, flash, or disappear and reappear during the observation.

The Air Force's investigation found that the observer's description matched the position and movement of the planet Jupiter, which was in the western sky at the time and at the exact bearing the observer reported. Jupiter's brightness on that date, with a magnitude of negative 2.2, made it significantly brighter than normal stars. The Air Force concluded that the sighting was most likely the planet Jupiter. The case file contains 9 pages as held by the National Archives.