FBIUnknown

Luminous object ascending from lunar surface — Rockford, Illinois, telescope observation, September 1954

Sep 5, 1954Rockford, Illinois2400s

⟳ Deeper read pending. This record is from the FBI 62-HQ-83894 flying-disc file, whose cursive, clippings and faint scans are under-read by automated OCR. It is flagged for a vision-transcription pass and likely undercounts what the source contains — see the documents collection note.

Analysis — our summary

Amateur astronomers Peter Bartkus and Theodore McColm of Rockford, Illinois, reported observing through a 6-inch Cassegrain reflector telescope between 10:35 and 11:15 PM on September 5, 1954 a spherical object ascending from the lunar surface in the northern section near Mare Humboldtianum. The object was not self-luminous but showed dull reflected light. McColm estimated by calculus that the object was approximately 12,500 feet in diameter. The object appeared to be ascending against the moon's descent, which observers noted was inconsistent with a natural orbit. The account was published in the CRIFO Newsletter and filed in FBI records.

As reported — verbatim from the document

“"We saw a spherical object ascending from the northern section off Mare Humboldtianum area... The object must have been a powered body because as the moon was descending at 1081 mph, the object was ascending and not following a true orbit."”

Analyst notes — caveats & confidence

Source is a civilian newsletter reproducing observers' written account. Two witnesses with telescope; observation conditions noted. Estimated size of 12,500 ft. diameter appears to be an extrapolation based on angular size calculations and assumed proximity to moon — not a direct measurement. Cannot be independently verified. OCR quality is good for this section.

Provenance

Source document65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_Section_8.pdf

Document typecorrespondence collection

Reporting agencyFBI

Source pages217

Redaction markers in doc14

DeclassifiedFirst public at this release (2026)

Held classified~72 years (≥, to this release)

Extraction confidence LowHow cleanly this record could be parsed from the source — driven by legibility & redaction. It is not a measure of how credible or anomalous the sighting is.