Potsdam, New YorkJuly 1959

Unidentified

Summary

On July 10, 1959, near Potsdam, New York, a civilian witness reported seeing a streak of brilliant light around 8:30 p.m. while driving with a friend. The light resembled lightning but was constant. The witness observed what appeared to be two separate objects: a space about one foot across, then a second one. Both objects moved rapidly across the sky. The witness watched them for about thirty minutes before they grew faint and disappeared. The sighting occurred about twenty miles from Massena in northern New York State. The Air Force concluded the sighting was unidentified.

Reported location

Potsdam, New York

Date of incident

July 1959

State / country

NY / US

Page count

3 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unidentified

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 36

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 3

View transcribed text

PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD

1. DATE
10 Jul 59

3. DATE/TIME GROUP
Local
2330
GMT
11/0130Z Jul 59

5.
Yes
No

7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION
2 mins

10. SUMMARY OF SIGHTING
A streak of brilliant light (like light ning, but constant) about three ft long & one inch thick. There was a space of about 1 ft, and there was a second one. The two appeared to be moving rapidly.

2. LOCATION
Potsdam, New York

4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION
Ground-Visual
Ground-Radar
Air-Visual
Air-Intercept Radar

6. SOURCE
Civilian

8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS
2

9. COURSE
[illegible]

11. COMMENTS
Delay in rpt & info given did not warrant follow-up questioning. Sighting too vague for meteor. Possessed characteristics of n/a.

12. CONCLUSIONS
Was Balloon
Probably Balloon
Possibly Balloon
Was Aircraft
Probably Aircraft
Possibly Aircraft
Was Astronomical
Probably Astronomical
Possibly Astronomical
Other
Insufficient Date for Evaluation
Unknown

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28983797