Lake Washington Area Seattle, WashingtonJanuary 1956

In the evening of January 30, 1956, a 13-year-old Boy Scout in Seattle, Washington first spotted what he thought was an unusual object in the southeastern sky near his home. The object appeared round and about the size of a pencil eraser held at arm's length, according to his account. It changed colors, shifting between white, amber, blue, and green, and seemed to flicker like a star. The boy said it slowly moved from southeast to due south over several hours, with its elevation rising as it moved. Over the following four nights, he saw what he believed was the same object in roughly the same position each evening, which eventually led him to conclude it was simply a bright star.

A second adult witness, a 33-year-old brick mason visiting the teenager's home, also observed the object for about five minutes. He described it as brighter than any stars in view that night, with colors ranging from light blue to dark blue, purple, and red. The object appeared round with a twinkling edge similar to a bright star. This witness estimated it at a bearing of 165 degrees (roughly south-southeast) and an elevation of 35 degrees. Like the Boy Scout, he eventually decided he was watching a particularly bright star.

The Air Force investigation was thorough. Researchers at the University of Washington Observatory were consulted and plotted the positions of known bright stars and planets. They identified the star Sirius as a strong match. Sirius is the brightest visible fixed star and appears predominantly bluish white with variations in color, which aligned closely with both witnesses' descriptions and the bearings and elevations they reported. The Air Force also investigated a weather balloon (called a radiosonde) that had been released from Sand Point Naval Air Station at 0231 hours on January 31st. This balloon rose at about 1,000 feet per minute and eventually burst at an altitude of 88,921 feet roughly 42 miles south of its launch point. A 25th Air Division weather officer noted that temperature inversions in the area could have caused unusual reflection of ground objects. Additionally, a helicopter was practicing landings at Tacoma during the time of the sighting and could have been visible under such conditions.

The Air Force also launched two F-86D interceptor aircraft to investigate the area near Lake Washington and the floating bridge. The pilots circled the location for several minutes but reported seeing nothing unusual. They noted only a patch of thin haze on the east side of the lake, clear weather overall, and bright stars visible in the dark sky.

The investigating officer concluded that the sighting was caused by the star Sirius. He noted that the position of Sirius as calculated by the observatory correlated closely with the witnesses' reported bearings and elevations. He also pointed out that the area had experienced unusually clear nights, which would draw extra attention to particularly bright stars in a region normally accustomed to cloud cover in January. The fact that both witnesses observed the object in roughly the same position on successive nights strongly suggested an astronomical source. Both witnesses ultimately agreed they believed they had been watching a star. The approving officer concurred with this assessment.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 10 pages of scanned original documents.