W of Germantown, OhioJuly 1958

Insufficient Data

Summary

On the evening of July 2, 1958, a witness west of Germantown, Ohio saw a bright white light blinking very rapidly in the sky. The observation lasted about 15 hours, with the object remaining stationary throughout. The witness could not make out a distinct shape, only describing the light as bright and white with a fast-blinking quality.

The Air Force investigator noted that very little information was provided in the report. The witness did not give an exact position for the object, only that it appeared to the east. The investigator compared the light's position and brightness to two bright stars visible that night: Altair, which was at an elevation of 35 degrees and bearing of 110 degrees, and Deneb, which was at 45 degrees elevation and 60 degrees bearing. Both are first-magnitude stars, among the brightest visible to the naked eye.

Based on this analysis, the Air Force concluded the case was astronomical in nature. The file indicates the sighting was likely caused by one of these prominent stars, though the exact match remains uncertain given the limited information provided by the witness.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 11 pages.

Reported location

W of Germantown, Ohio

Date of incident

July 1958

State / country

OH / US

Page count

11 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 33

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 11

View transcribed text

| |
Sha PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD “a |
1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS }
~ |o Wes Balloon
2 Jul 58 W of Germantown, Ohio O Probably Balloon
3. DATE-TIME GROUP + TYPE OF OBSERVATION O Possibly Balloon
Loco! 2130-2300 0 Ground- Visual O Ground-Radar 8 Pesbably Are ot
emt_03/02307 0 Air Visval 0 Air-Intercept Radar O Possibly Aircraft
S. PHOTOS JOUR O Was Astronomical (S tar)
O Yes x xProbably Astronomical
a No ’ Civilian : 0’ Possibly Astronomical
7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE Bl DIN iiss
O Insufficient Data for Evaluation
15 hrs still in sight pDNE stationar
10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING : 11. COMMENTS
Bright white lightk blinking very Very little info to go on, but
| fast, no distinct shape. . probably astronomical, Altair
was at 35 deg elev 110 deg azi-
muth & DENEB 45 deg elev 60 deg
: | azimuth these are lst mag stars
exact position not given other
than east. No planets in East,
Case listed as Astro.
"ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52)
5 3
; : | 4
}
»
Le aE 3553 BS 55 sae

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28978791