Tyndal AFB, FloridaFebruary 1961

Unidentified

Summary

On the night of February 26, 1961, a U.S. Air Force master sergeant stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida reported seeing a bright, moving object in the sky. Master Sergeant Henry J. Lacour first spotted the object at 1935 (7:35 p.m.) from Capehart Housing on the base. He described it as elliptical in shape, roughly the size of a grapefruit, and very bright, similar in appearance to a star. The object seemed to travel steadily from west to east, though Lacour noted it appeared to bounce or stop every five seconds. He initially observed it at an angle of 45 degrees above the horizon and in a direction about 295 degrees (roughly northwest). After about ten minutes of observation, the object seemed to stop and then disappeared entirely in a direction roughly 60 degrees (northeast). The sky was clear and lit by moonlight at the time.

Lacour called over Captain Allan E. Aaronson and Captain Norman R. Smedes, who also observed the object during part of his sighting. The weather was fair and clear with good visibility.

In its analysis, the Air Force noted that the planet Venus was visible that evening at a magnitude of negative 4.3, making it as bright as Venus ever gets. Venus was positioned low on the horizon in a direction matching the one Lacour reported. The file states that objects distorted by atmospheric refraction (the bending of light as it passes through the atmosphere) can appear to move in unusual ways. The Air Force evaluated the case as unidentified, though the comments section suggests the object was probably the planet Venus. However, the official conclusion checkbox on the case card was not marked with a specific determination. The full case file, comprising 8 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.

Reported location

Tyndal AFB, Florida

Date of incident

February 1961

State / country

FL / US

Page count

8 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unidentified

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 41

Fo EN mE ITA per en CRN YUE A PIRI IY Sa TP. pr ———— » y : THe ee PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD 1. DATE 2. LOCATION 2. CONCLUSIONS O Was Boll | 26 Feb 61 Tyndal AFB, Florida O Probably Balloon 5. DATE-TIMEGROUP | 4& TYPEOF OBSERVATION [0 Possibly Belleen TEN BRR) SRR & Ground- Visual O Ground-Rodor 8 Boba Revere CMT 2700352 a Air Visual 0 Air-Intercept Rador 0 Possibly Aireraft 7 | 5. PHOTOS . SOURCE 8 Was Astronomical VERIUS 0 Yes O Probobly Astronomical : B No Military OD Possibly Astronomical BE 7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION ’ NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE RT — l ; O Insufficient Date for Evaluation O Unknown 10 Min d W-E 10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING Elliptical, size of 11. COMMENTS(Objt was probably planet Venus] = | grapefruit. Color was very similar to a star,| On day of sighting planet was of magnityed very bright. Opjt was traveling on a steady | -4.3, as bright as it ever gets. Planet course, seemed to bounce every five seconds. | was low on horizon and in a direction First observed angle 45° and azimuth 295°, which coincides with that reported by | Disappeared on an approx heading of 60°, witness, Objt disappeared with setting df 3 planet. Description of objt favorably : i matches that of objts which are distortdd | and given apparent motion by atmospheridq : i refraction. ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52) y | . / ; ‘ j by s% Si Sa ia se fet vd i an ve X ! | CE TE RL