NUFORC Sighting 160870

Occurred: 1954-08-15 20:30 Local - Approximate
Reported: 2020-11-28 19:50 Pacific
Duration: 7 seconds
No of observers: 0

Location: Indianapolis, IN, USA

Shape:

It appeared to be a fast moving white cloud in level flight

WHEN: A summer evening, the estimated year was 1954 or possibly 1953. The month may have been July or August WHERE: Indianapolis, Indiana. Outdoor movie theater bordered by Kentucky Avenue to the north and Tibbs Avenue to the west. The movie screen was near the Tibbs Avenue border TIME AND SKY CONDITIONS. The sun had set with the sky still blue and cloudless. Wind, calm. It was still too light to start showing the movie.

OBSERVATION: I was working outside at the theater when I saw a silent white cloud (see illustration) a few degrees above the southern horizon and moving rapidly to the northwest. I lost sight of it as it went behind the movie screen, but it appeared again at the north edge of the screen. it appeared to reduce its travel to the north and was going away from me into the western sky. Its shape was a diminishing dot with the color becoming redder with increasing distance. It moved horizontally without any climbing or descending maneuvers. I estimate the object moved through about 90 degrees of azimuth in less than 8 seconds. I estimate the length of the object appeared to match about half an inch at arm's length.

A number of theater patrons saw it. The following morning, the Indianapolis Star newspaper had a 3 or 4 inch article about the police department receiving many phone calls from people who saw it. The article also reported that the flight crew of a commercial flight approaching Indianapolis had seen this event.

Posted 2020-12-23