Newberryport, New HampshireDecember 1956

Insufficient Data

Summary

In December 1956, a Coast Guard apprentice in Newberryport, New Hampshire, spotted a red and green blinking light in the night sky. The object appeared star-shaped and roughly the size of a dime held at arm's length. The observer watched it through binoculars as it remained stationary overhead for about two hours.

The Air Force investigators who reviewed the case noted that the object's appearance, how long it stayed visible, and its blinking pattern all pointed to a single explanation. They concluded the sighting was caused by the planet Venus, which can sometimes appear to blink or change color when viewed from the ground.

The case file also contains a separate incident from Miami, Florida, recorded on December 18, 1956, involving a red and green blinking light. In that case, the object was initially stationary to the south but then suddenly veered toward the south-southwest at high speed. An observer watched it through binoculars for five minutes. The Air Force's reporting officer agreed that this sighting was probably caused by an aircraft.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, 8 pages as scanned from microfilm.

Reported location

Newberryport, New Hampshire

Date of incident

December 1956

State / country

NH / US

Page count

8 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 27

| . ; : ; i FE ) . PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD . 1. DATE 2, LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS DO Was Balloon 17 December 1956 Newberryport,New Hampshire |O Biobatly Balloon 3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION B: Possibly Balloon Local —_— XR Ground- Visual 0 Ground-Radar 8 Probably Alrerofs GMT 0 Ai~Visual 0 Air-Intercept Radar O Possibly Aircraft 5. PHOTOS + SOURCE Was Astronomical Venus O Yes O Probably Astronomical »XNo Military 0 Possibly Astromomicol 7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION | 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE (0 Ao 111) eR er er D Insufficient Data for Evaluation 0 Unknown r one stationar 10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS One red and green star-shaped object Description,duration,blinking size of a dime at arm's length, Obj indicate that sighting was causd was seen blinking and stationary and| by a star or planet, probably was seen visually for two hours, the planet Venus, ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52) | i : [)