Ithaca, New YorkDecember 1952

Unidentified

Summary

On December 17, 1952, at about 7:57 a.m., an observer on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, saw a fast-moving light. The report was sent to Air Force intelligence by a first lieutenant.

The light resembled a jet exhaust. It was greenish blue with an orange red trail. It moved in a westerly direction at very high speed. The observer said it crossed about 30 degrees of arc in roughly two seconds.

High cirrus clouds were present, estimated above 20,000 feet. The light disappeared behind the leading edge of a cloud. No aircraft structure was visible. The light appeared elongated and was traveling in a level path. Based on the altitude and the arc, the observers estimated the speed at more than 700 miles per hour.

The report was one of three unrelated letters received after national news coverage. The base noted the observations did not seem highly accurate. The record card does not give a clear final conclusion.

Reported location

Ithaca, New York

Date of incident

December 1952

State / country

NY / US

Page count

4 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unidentified

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 16

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 4

View transcribed text

'\g :
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i gn PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD
L —_— .
wn ————— ee eee ee eee er |
i. DATE 12 \, CATION \ CCNCLUSIONS |
. |
| w ) Ww 3giloe |
17 Dee 1952 : Ithnea, New York bE phone WN
a ae Ea TN Es i i reps a> SACS: ci A i lo a o tA Boog
3. DATETIME GROUP TAPE STMT ATION [B THREIY Sie
7 "wna [ Plas ig h
Local . 0751 Bees. UMP oy A Ground: Visual OU Ground-Rodar i= Je Aircraft
FT Bang > 4 a ~robabiy Aircrate |
OMT. BEE 1 4 Lies { teams. | O Air-Visuol Q Air-intercept Radar 1 © Possibly Aircraft |
5. PHOTOS { 1 6. SOURCE % : Qh Was Astronomical |
C Yes : i Dy aidbas At rans oo matnnnt |
B No i Kil +O Possibly Astronomical i |
"7. LENGTH CF OBSERVATION | 8. NUMBER OF OBJFCTS | 9. COURSE 0 Other. coo oe |
! 3 y [Rams won Oats for Eveivation
! . Ink riown
- 2 See h] ey :
10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING Cr SEE ee yo ne |:
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. Observed 2 light resembling a Jet exhaust, !
, Obj was greenlsh - blue with an orange trail, | :
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Ce A RR CR
ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP $2)
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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28952148