MITCHEL AFB, NEW YORKDecember 1952

On the morning of December 1, 1952, air traffic controllers and tower operators across the New York City area spotted a single, glowing object in the western sky. The sighting began around 0430 (4:30 a.m.) EST and lasted about 30 minutes as the object slowly drifted and sank below the horizon.

Multiple observers at six major airports and control towers reported the same phenomenon. They described it as a round or oval object that varied in brightness from white to orange to amber to red. The object appeared large enough to have a visible disk shape. Observers using binoculars reported seeing a bright white halo with a gray edge surrounding a white disk with no noticeable flicker. Everyone who saw it agreed on one key detail: the object moved slowly southward, staying near the horizon throughout the sighting, roughly at an azimuth (compass bearing) between 275 and 310 degrees. An inbound Eastern Airlines pilot also spotted the object and reported seeing "a cluster of lights" close to the western horizon after scanning for it at the controller's request.

The Air Force immediately attempted to track the object by radar but detected nothing on electronic equipment. Weather conditions at the time were exceptionally clear and favorable for observation, with winds from the northwest at around 16 knots.

Within hours, intelligence officers at Mitchel AFB consulted astronomical charts and determined the object was almost certainly the planet Jupiter. Jupiter's magnitude (brightness), color range, azimuth, and the time it disappeared below the horizon all matched the observations perfectly. The officers explained that Jupiter's light would have taken on white to amber to reddish hues as it passed through the atmosphere near the horizon, especially on such a crystal-clear night. The case closely resembled an earlier sighting at Presque Isle, Maine, on October 10 that was also attributed to Jupiter.

The Air Force concluded the object was the planet Jupiter. The case file notes that the investigation was thorough and commendable, with complete personal statements and precise azimuth and elevation readings from six independent observation points. Had the object turned out to be something else, investigators wrote, triangulation from these detailed measurements would have made pinpointing its location in the sky possible. The complete case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, containing 36 pages.