Minot, North DakotaJuly 1960

On the night of July 8, 1960, Airman M.E. Huyge at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota spotted an unusually bright object in the sky. He described it as round, about the size of a pea held at arm's length, and noticeably larger and brighter than any star visible that night. The object flickered continuously, shifting from white to red to blue and back to white again.

Huyge watched the object for roughly three hours starting around 2:07 a.m. It appeared to drift slowly while circling the city in a clockwise direction, hovering at an elevation of about 75 to 85 degrees overhead. The flickering slowed and then stopped after about two hours. As daylight approached around 5:32 a.m., the object disappeared.

When base operations received Huyge's report, they quickly launched an investigation. They increased radar surveillance across multiple radar sites, made phone calls to Minot Air Force Base, the Federal Aviation Administration office in Minot, and air traffic control centers in Minneapolis and Winnipeg. They also stationed observers outside to try to spot the object themselves. However, no radar contacts were made at any site. The night was very clear with a full moon, but investigators found no explanation for what Huyge had seen. Several other people at the base apparently called in reports about the same sighting, but only Huyge's account was officially documented.

The Air Force concluded that the object was probably the star Vega, one of the brightest stars in the night sky. The apparent movement and color changes, according to the analysis, were likely caused by warm air currents and particles in the atmosphere distorting the starlight, a phenomenon known as atmospheric scintillation (twinkling). The full case file, including radar logs and investigative memos, is reproduced below as held by the National Archives across 8 pages.