Oakwood, Dayton, OhioNovember 1957

Unidentified

Summary

On November 11, 1957, at around noon, a resident of Oakwood, Dayton, Ohio reported seeing an unusual object in the sky. The observer described it as blue-white in color with a possible red point on top. The object appeared roughly the size of a pinhead or pea when held at arm's length.

The object changed brightness slightly during the observation, which lasted about ten minutes. It remained stationary at first, then diminished in brightness and moved slowly toward the north before disappearing from view.

The Air Force investigator who reviewed the case concluded that the object was almost certainly Venus, the planet, which was in the position described by the witness and was very bright on that date. This explanation accounts for the object's starlike appearance, its brightness changes, and its slow apparent movement across the sky. The case was marked as unidentified in the official filing system, though the investigator's written comment strongly suggested a planetary explanation.

The full case file, including the witness questionnaire and technical information sheet, is reproduced below as held by the National Archives in 10 scanned pages.

Reported location

Oakwood, Dayton, Ohio

Date of incident

November 1957

State / country

OH / US

Page count

10 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unidentified

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 30

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 10

View transcribed text

[J \ ;
§ \ |
PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD “
1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS
0 Was Balloon
11 November 1857 aliwood, Davton Yhio 0 Probably Bolloon
JURE. ELA... Ah ALLL EASE PIIE A SEN Q WOO es URN EOD. DLE a] 0 Possibly Balloon
: 3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION
1200 - g v 0D Wos Aircraft
ON i dBA a i bby ia @'Oround:Reder QO Probably Aircraft
GMT BABAR A 0 Ain Visual 0 Air-Intercept Radar 0 Possibly Aircralr
5. PHOTOS 6. SOURCE 03... Was Astronomical / 2711153
OC Yes D0 Probably Astronomical
“C1 Ne Civilian O Possibly Astronomical ;
7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE BIE
0 Insufficient Date for Evaluation
4 ‘ i 0 Unknown
10 minutes CONE stationary |
10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS
Biue--white object with possible red Undoubtedly Venus, which was in :
po int on top, changed brightness wery | position described and very bright}
slightly, size of head of pin or pea,
; diminished in brightness and moved
slowly north,
———————————————————————————————— — Nr —————— A ———————— V——— A ———
ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52)
p ¢
| 2

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28974573