Vandalia, OhioSeptember 1956

Insufficient Data

Summary

On September 4, 1956, around 8:35 p.m., a resident of Vandalia, Ohio, observed an unusual object in the night sky. The object appeared round, roughly the size of a pea held at arm's length, and had a reddish color. The witness reported that it seemed to stand still in place. The sighting lasted about twenty minutes.

The Air Force investigator who reviewed the case concluded that the sighting was caused by the planet Mars. According to the report, Mars was visible in the southeast portion of the sky at an elevation of 25 degrees above the horizon at the time of the sighting. The file notes that the object's characteristics, behavior, and location were consistent with an astronomical observation rather than an unknown aerial phenomenon.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, 8 pages.

Reported location

Vandalia, Ohio

Date of incident

September 1956

State / country

OH / US

Page count

8 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 26

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 8

View transcribed text

A
SA LR PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD oof fd de
1. DATE : 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS
O Was Bolloen
4 September 1556 Vandalia, Ohio O Probably Bolleon
3. DATE-TINE GROUP 4 TYPE OF OBSERVATION Q Possibly Bellen
2035 (N) O Wos Aireroft
Local ( Xl Ground-Visval O Ground-Rador a Probably Aireroft
GM 05/ 0135Z O Air Visvel O Air-Intercept Rodor O Possibly Aireroft
5. PHOTC ; . SOUF BX Was Astronomicol Mars
O Yes O Probably Astrenomicel
XB Ne Civilian D Possibly Astronomical
7. LENGTH OF.OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE CR HORE A —
O Insufficient Dete for Evaluation
" 0 Unknown
20 minutes one
10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS
One object round, size of pea. Color Conclude sighting to 09 cuused
reddish. Appeared to stand still. . by astro (Mars in SE at 25 dgr
elevation).
S\
ATIC PORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52)
5. :
K) ; ¢ » » .
gr BAR 5 8h ES 50 iin

/ 8

Use ← → keys to navigate · scans hosted by the U.S. National Archives

Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28967432