Misawa & Northwest Hokkaido, Japan, March 1953March 1953

On the evening of March 1, 1953, two U.S. Air Force servicemembers stationed at Misawa and Northwest Hokkaido, Japan spotted an unusual bright object in the sky. Radar Operator Gordon C. Ward and Radar Mechanic Jon H. Hughes watched as the object changed color from yellowish green to orange to pink over the course of nearly an hour. The object appeared to fade and reappear several times, starting at around 8:25 p.m. at a bearing of approximately 270 degrees and 35 degrees above the horizon. As time passed, it slowly moved to a bearing of 230 degrees and dropped to about 10 degrees above the horizon before disappearing completely around 9:01 p.m.

Both men described the object as resembling a bright star, but with behavior that seemed unusual. Hughes noted that the object appeared to move toward and away from their position and gave the impression of bouncing or vibrating. The object would vanish for periods of 10 to 20 seconds, then reappear at its brightest for about 10 minutes, fade again for several minutes, and repeat this cycle. Weather conditions were generally clear with a few scattered clouds, but neither observer believed the clouds were responsible for the object's fading. Ward was limited in his observation time because he was on radar duty during the incident, but he also noted the object seemed to be hopping up and down.

The detachment attempted to photograph the object, and several photographs were taken during the sighting. According to the file, camera information included a Bolsey B-11 camera with a 3.2 lens and a 15-second exposure. The photographs showed streaks attributed to both the object's movement and star movement during the long exposure times, as well as fading caused by unknown factors. The prepared officer noted that this sighting appeared to be related to similar earlier sightings on February 25 and 26, 1953. The officer suggested these incidents may have been observations of a star, though the photographs suggested some visual evidence of an object.

The Air Force evaluation for this case is listed as unknown in the file's metadata. The case file comprises 9 pages as held by the National Archives.