Jones Beach, New YorkSeptember 1953

On September 3, 1953, about 2300 (11:00 p.m.) local time, civilians saw an object from a beach at Jones Beach State Park, New York. The witnesses were a man and his wife standing at the surf line by a tower.

The object was described as dirigible or baseball shaped and a luminous silver color. The witness thought it may have had eight windows in two tiers of four along the body. It seemed slightly hidden by haze or smoke. No engine was heard, though the observer was standing at the edge of heavy surf. It was the only light visible between the horizon and the zenith on a very dark night. It moved in a straight, horizontal path and faded away. It was seen twice.

Weather was very dark, calm, with haze and ground fog and broken to overcast clouds. There was heavy air traffic in the area. The duty officer noted the warm night had drawn many tourists who parked nearby. He believed a spotlight from a car, or the rotating beacon on the tower, was reflected off the cloud bank and seen, with the haze making the reflection look three-dimensional. He considered the windows imaginary. The Air Force listed the case as reflections.