Rapid City, South DakotaMarch 1957

Insufficient Data

Summary

On March 1, 1957, at approximately 12 a.m. MST in Rapid City, South Dakota, a military witness reported seeing strange lights in the sky. The rays from the lights formed a circular pattern slanting outward. A thin cloud layer blocked the view of the light source itself. The lights changed color, appearing white, blue, and red. They seemed to be moving slowly in a northerly direction. The witness watched the object for about 30 minutes before it went inside. Fifteen minutes later, the object had disappeared. The Air Force noted the sighting occurred at night with incomplete data and insufficient information for analysis. The official evaluation was listed as unknown.

Reported location

Rapid City, South Dakota

Date of incident

March 1957

State / country

SD / US

Page count

2 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 27

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 2

View transcribed text

PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD

1. DATE
1 March 1957

2. LOCATION
Rapid City, South Dakota

12. CONCLUSIONS
[ ] Was Balloon
[ ] Probably Balloon
[ ] Possibly Balloon
[ ] Was Aircraft
[ ] Probably Aircraft
[ ] Possibly Aircraft
[ ] Was Astronomical
[ ] Probably Astronomical
[ ] Possibly Astronomical
[ ] Other___________
[X] Insufficient Data for Evaluation
[ ] Unknown

3. DATE-TIME GROUP
Local_________________
GMT 02/0700Z

4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION
[X] Ground-Visual
[ ] Ground-Radar
[ ] Air-Visual
[ ] Air-Intercept Radar

5. SOURCE
Military

6. PHOTOS
[ ] Yes
[X] No

7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION
30 minutes

8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS
unknown

9. COURSE
northerly

10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING
Lights seen in the sky, rays from the objects,seemed to be in a circular pattern slanting outward. Lights changed color (white, blue, and red). Objs appeared to be moving slowly. There was a thin cloud layer. Lights were above this cloud layer.

11. COMMENTS
Come question as to time. Sighting probably at night. Duration excessive for a/c. Possibly auroral display. Data incomplete Insufficient for analysis.

ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52)

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28969049