Englewood Hills, OhioSeptember 1961

On September 11, 1961, a resident of Englewood Hills, Ohio reported seeing two lights in the northwestern sky. The witness watched them for approximately two hours. One of the lights disappeared during the observation, while both objects remained in the same general northwest direction throughout the sighting.

The witness described the objects only as lights with changing brightness. According to the case file, the same objects had apparently been visible on previous nights during the week before the sighting. The witness was looking outside and happened to notice the lights. The file notes that the observation lasted a relatively long duration, with the objects remaining visible in similar locations on successive days.

The Air Force investigation concluded that the sighting was "obviously of astronomical bodies." The file identifies the planet Venus and Capella, a bright first-magnitude star, as being in the locations described by the witness. The presence of these known celestial objects in the same area on successive nights, combined with the long observation duration and the changing brightness the witness reported, led to this astronomical explanation. The case was officially evaluated as unidentified, though the analysis points to a likely celestial source.

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