Newburgh, New YorkOctober 1956

On the evening of October 13, 1956, a civilian in Newburgh, New York reported seeing a circular white object with a red light. The observer described the object as roughly the size of a pinhead held at arm's length. It was moving up and down in the sky and remained visible at the time the report was filed.

According to the witness's questionnaire responses, the sighting occurred around 10:30 p.m. during clear skies with no wind. The observer was walking and happened to notice the object while outdoors. The witness reported that the object's brightness changed and that it seemed to merge with the moon at one point, appearing very bright. However, the questionnaire entries are difficult to read in places, and some specific details about the observation are unclear in the scanned document.

The reporting officer noted in the case file that considerable numbers of weather balloons had recently been launched in the area by the 26th Air Division. A subsequent technical letter from the Air Force elaborated on this theory, explaining that balloons at high altitude can appear small to the naked eye and can display red or orange coloring when reflecting sunlight from below the observer's horizon, even when direct sunlight is not visible from the ground. The letter noted that balloons launched at night often carry lights and can produce the kind of apparent motion and brightness changes the witness described.

The Air Force concluded that the sighting was probably caused by a balloon. The full case file, consisting of 14 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.