Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaSeptember 1959

On the evening of September 15, 1959, a civilian observer near Philadelphia reported seeing an unusual object in the night sky. The observer first spotted what he thought was a falling star, a circular object that glowed yellowish-white. He watched it for about five to six minutes before calling the Operations Center at nearby McGuire Air Force Base to report the sighting. One hour later, he looked at the sky again and saw the object a second time, also for about five to six minutes. This time he showed it to his wife, though she had difficulty locating it at first.

The object's position and behavior shifted between the two observations. During the first sighting, it appeared to be located near the moon, which sat high overhead. The object seemed to move slowly southward in a wavering, elliptical pattern, covering roughly 50 feet. By the second sighting one hour later, the object had moved much farther south and was no longer near the moon. The observer noted that the object had also changed color, from yellowish-white to blue-green. Throughout both observations, the object remained visible and did not disappear.

Air Force investigators requested clarification from the observer to pin down exactly what he had seen. When pressed on whether the two objects were the same, the observer admitted he could not say for certain, though he had looked in the same direction both times. He acknowledged that the moon had moved during the hour-long gap between observations. Investigators found his estimate of the object's movement particularly unclear, noting that the observer seemed confused and vague when trying to describe how he had calculated the 50-foot distance.

The Air Force's conclusion appears in the case file summary at the top of the document. The file identifies the star Altair, which has a brightness magnitude of 0.9, as likely positioned where the observer reported seeing the object. The investigation note states that the object's color changes were "probably due to atmospheric conditions." No further investigation or interception action was taken. The full case file as held by the National Archives comprises 12 pages.