Dobbins AFB, GeorgiaFebruary 1953

On the night of February 8, 1953, military personnel at Dobbins Air Force Base in Georgia watched a bright white object in the sky that shifted to red and yellow colors. The object appeared northwest of the base at 2145 EST (9:45 p.m.) and remained visible for roughly fifteen minutes. Compared to the red warning lights on the base's control tower and hangars, the object looked larger and brighter. It moved slowly from east to west and then disappeared below the horizon.

The sighting was not limited to Dobbins. An AC&W unit (aircraft control and warning team) in Knoxville, Tennessee reported observing the same bright light to the west of their location. Strikingly, the object vanished from both locations at almost the same moment. All observations were visual; no radar contact was made. The weather that night was clear across the region, with visibility between fifteen and thirty-eight miles and calm surface winds.

The Air Force investigation noted that no triangulation between the two observation points was attempted, which would have been valuable for pinpointing the object's actual location and distance. The official analysis found the description and manner of disappearance resembled earlier astronomical sightings at Presque Isle Air Force Base and Mitchell Air Force Base in October and December 1952. The investigating officers concluded the object was most likely Jupiter, a bright evening star visible at that time of year.

The file includes newspaper clippings about an unrelated Marine Corps jet chase of a mysterious object over coastal North Carolina on February 11, 1953, but this incident occurred in a different location and is not part of the Dobbins sighting. The complete case file, comprising seven pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.