Garden City, New YorkJuly 1954

On the evening of July 10, 1954, around 9:55 p.m., someone in Garden City, New York saw three bright, star-like objects moving together across the sky. The objects traveled in a straight line, descending from about 85 degrees above the horizon to about 60 degrees. The entire sighting lasted roughly 20 seconds.

The witness described the objects as moving faster than a jet aircraft. The middle object appeared to burn out or fade during the sighting, while the other two continued on their path. According to the initial case record, the Air Force considered this a possible bolide observation (a bright meteor).

The witness filled out a detailed technical questionnaire for the Air Force. Much of the handwritten responses are difficult to read due to the OCR quality, but the witness appears to have noted that the objects were bright and star-like, with relatively sharp edges. The witness also appears to have speculated that what they saw might have been aircraft or possibly related to Mars.

The Air Force marked this case as unknown on the official case card. However, the file contains a note suggesting the phenomenon was a bolide observation, which would indicate a meteor or similar natural atmospheric event. The full case file, held by the National Archives, comprises 12 pages.