Neptune, New JerseyOctober 1957

On the night of October 21, 1957, a resident of Neptune, New Jersey, observed an unusual object in the sky while tracking the Soviet satellite Sputnik I with binoculars. The observer, using 8x35mm binoculars with a field of view of 115 yards, first picked up the Sputnik rocket at approximately 7:29 p.m. in the direction of the Square of Pegasus. About 30 minutes later, he located the satellite itself near the constellation Cassiopeia and continued to track it across the sky.

As the observer watched the satellite move across the heavens, a second object appeared nearby. The observer described it as an identical, blinking, fast-moving counterpart of Sputnik. The object seemed to be traveling on a collision course with the satellite. Two jets with greenish-blue lights appeared from the southwest, apparently in pursuit of the mysterious object. The observer noted that the object itself made no sound. By the time the planes reached the zenith (the point directly overhead), the unknown object had disappeared toward the northeast. The observer could not hear the jet engines until the aircraft were already halfway across the eastern horizon.

Through binoculars, the observer reported that the unknown object and Sputnik appeared double in the eyepieces, while the rocket booster appeared as a single, flashing object. The observer believed he had witnessed the appearance of a second Soviet satellite, though he acknowledged uncertainty about what he had seen.

The Air Force's analysis of the report concluded that the object was probably a high-flying aircraft, though the file notes that further checks were being conducted. No definitive conclusion appears to be stated. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives across seven pages of microfilm.