Walnut Lake, Michigan, May 25, 1952: a moon-sized object followed by car.
THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP SIGHTINGS REPORT
Walnut Lake, Michigan: The “Moon” That Followed a Car
On the night of May 25, 1952, John Hoffman and six other people stood outside his Walnut Lake home in Michigan, looking at a sky that was hazy and dark with the stars dimly visible, and saw what at first looked like the moon: a large, white to yellow-orange object drifting silently overhead. It was larger than the moon, and it kept moving. They got in a car and followed it.
The Walnut Lake, Michigan UFO sighting lasted about thirty minutes, took in a cloud entry and a reappearance, and was recorded by the Air Force in a detailed intelligence report whose reporting officer called it a good report. Blue Book left it Unidentified.
Date: May 25, 1952
Sighting Time: 9:15 p.m. EST (card: 2115)
Day/Night: Night
Location: Walnut Lake, Michigan (42°34’N 83°20’W), near Pontiac and Pine Lake
Urban or Rural: Rural lake community
No. of Entity(‘s): Not Applicable
Entity Type: Not Applicable
Entity Description: Not Applicable
Hynek Classification: Nocturnal Light (NL)
Duration: About 30 minutes (20 before the cloud, 10 after)
No. of Object(s): 1
Description of the Object(s): Large white to yellow-orange object, noiseless, no trail, dark sections around the rim suggesting windows; it drifted, entered a cloud and reappeared beneath it
Shape/Size/Color of Object(s): Round, moon-like / larger than the moon / white to yellow-orange
Distance to Object(s): Unknown
Height & Speed: Slow drift; course about 270°, then north
Number of Witnesses: Seven civilians, led by John Hoffman
Special Features/Characteristics: Followed by car half a mile; one observer saw a red glow inside a cloud; two photographs were taken but were of no value; the object could not be found again after a fast drive.
Case Status: Unidentified (Project Blue Book)
Source: Project Blue Book record card; Air Intelligence Information Report; Berliner (BBU 1227)
Summary/Description: Seven people watched a large moon-like object drift over Walnut Lake for 30 minutes, followed it by car and saw it enter and emerge from a cloud.
Related Cases: Walnut Lake, April 27 and June 18, 1952 (same witness family)
Detailed Report
The Air Intelligence Information Report was prepared by an Air Force headquarters after the sighting was reported at 2200 hours to the Officer of the Day. It records Hoffman, his wife and friends seeing a bright object in the sky from the Walnut Lake home on May 25, proceeding from the vicinity of Pontiac toward Flint. The party followed it by car for half a mile, when it changed direction and headed north. They climbed a promontory and took a photograph, then moved to Pine Lake, two miles north, to watch it enter a large cloud.
“Observers reasoned that if the object was the moon, it would be passed by the cloud in a natural manner.” The object entered the cloud, and Hoffman detected a red glow within it at one time; other members of the party did not. It did not appear on the opposite end. Instead it showed up suddenly beneath the cloud, roughly halfway between the cloud and the ground; it had been under observation for about twenty minutes before entering the cloud, and after it reappeared, it was watched for ten more. Another photo was taken, and when the object drifted north again the watchers drove toward US highway, but lost it and could not find it though the car was driven fast.
Hoffman described the object as larger than the moon, white to yellow-orange, noiseless, with no trail, and with dark sections around its periphery suggesting windows. The sky was hazy with stars dimly visible, so there was great contrast. Hoffman was contacted at the Detroit Tank Arsenal on May 27 and said that although the photographs were developed with special care by a friend, they were of no value because his camera was inadequate. A balloon had been launched from Selfridge at 0300, though hard to see over open country, and the reporting officer noted that the weather was bad and the report was good. Blue Book’s card: Unknown.
RESEARCHER’S NOTES
A Moon That Was Not the Moon
- The moon test: The observers tested the moon explanation themselves by seeing whether a cloud would pass over it naturally; it did not.
- Evaluation: Blue Book rated the case Unknown, and the 11–31 May table lists Walnut Lake as UNIDENTIFIED. The reporting officer judged the report “good.”
- Photos: Two photographs were taken; the camera was inadequate and the prints were of no value.
- Repeat witnesses: The same family appears in reports on April 27 and June 18, 1952, which raises the question of whether the family was an unusually attentive group of skywatchers or the object was a recurring visitor.
- Balloon candidate: A Selfridge balloon launched at 0300 is noted in the file as hard to see; it would not explain a bright, moon-sized object for 30 minutes at 9:15 p.m.
The Walnut Lake report stands as a family-and-friends case with a well-recorded behavior, a self-administered moon test, and an Air Force officer who judged the report good. Blue Book offered no explanation, and nothing in the file supplies one.
“Observers reasoned that if the object was the moon, it would be passed by the cloud in a natural manner.”
— Air Intelligence Information Report, Walnut Lake, Michigan, May 25, 1952
