Drummond, WisconsinMay 1958

Insufficient Data

Summary

On the evening of May 16, 1958, a woman in Drummond, Wisconsin reported seeing a bright object in the sky. She described it as round and white, about the size of a nickel, moving back and forth. She took photographs of the object and reported it to the U.S. Air Force.

A second report came in that same night from another observer in Drummond. This witness described the object as about the size of a large star, very bright and twinkling, and stationary in the sky. The second observer also took photographs. Both sightings occurred in clear weather, with the objects remaining visible for well over an hour.

Air Force investigators examined the photographs submitted by both witnesses but found them essentially useless for analysis. The film showed developing streaks, fuzziness, pinholes, and light fog throughout, with no identifiable object visible except tree tops. The investigators also considered the possibility that the observers had simply spotted a bright star. Three first-magnitude stars were in the sky at the reported time and location: Vega to the northeast, Arcturus overhead and slightly north, and Regulus to the west. The investigators noted that the second observer eventually became convinced the object was indeed just a star, especially after it appeared as an ordinary star at 0030 (12:30 a.m.) on May 17.

The Air Force's official evaluation concluded there was no compelling reason to believe the object was anything other than a very bright star. The case file, consisting of 13 pages, is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.

Reported location

Drummond, Wisconsin

Date of incident

May 1958

State / country

WI / US

Page count

13 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 32

! F : ¢ 7 ST le, : 1 : J BL PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD : : 1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS | H 0 Was Balloon : i Is 5 isc si O Probably Balloon | ; 16-17 May 58 Drummond, Wisconsin B Bovtibly Balisan | : 3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION i : Was Ai [ b Local 0030 CDST _ $Ground- Visual 0 Ground-Radar a Bibntdy Avera: omMT_17/C 05307 0 Air Visual O Air-Intercept Radar O Possibly Aircraft { _————_—e—_—_ —_— I 5. PHOTOS 8. SOURCE XXWas Astronomical Star vit | : BXes Oo Probably Astronomical lancet | 0 No Civilian O Possibly Astronomical | f 7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION | 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE (n)gefo} 3} 20% SE GEERR NEAT IE i 0 cle Data for Evaluation| |! : still visible 13 hrs plus// one Btattonary” SHEN | i: 10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING : 11. COMMENTS | 2 Rnd, white obj, size of nickel, There is no reason to conclude ; .fnoved back & forth, One inch dong. that the obj was other than a | Second rpt about size of large star, very bright star, Photos failed / bright & twinkling. Stationary. to show obj. E Second rpt indicates observer 3 elieved obj to be a star, photos ’ aken, 3 " ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52) i jE ; : | f El / iE » § i i & I } | | i ; i Her > { i !