Houston, Texas, May 20, 1952: pilots, a sextant and an unexplained light.
THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP SIGHTINGS REPORT
Houston, Texas:
Two Pilots with a Sextant Watch a Light Dart Across the Stars
On the night of May 20, 1952, two Air Force captains stood in a backyard in Houston with a sextant, shooting stars for a celestial navigation class at Ellington AFB, when a light that did not belong to any constellation moved across the sky. It was orange-white, it turned, and then it moved erratically from side to side along a straight course, while Mrs. Stephan watched with them.
The Houston, Texas UFO sighting was reported by Capt. J. E. Spurgin and Capt. B. N. Stephan, both rated pilots with years of flying time. Their wing intelligence officer called it “a competent observation,” added that “what it was would be a matter of conjecture,” and Blue Book filed it as Unknown.
Date: May 20, 1952
Sighting Time: 10:10 p.m. CST
Day/Night: Night
Location: Houston, Texas (the home of Capt. B. N. Stephan; reported by Ellington Air Force Base)
Urban or Rural: Urban
No. of Entity(‘s): Not Applicable
Entity Type: Not Applicable
Entity Description: Not Applicable
Hynek Classification: Nocturnal Light (NL)
Duration: About 90 seconds
No. of Object(s): 1
Description of the Object(s): An orange-white light that came from about 45° elevation, moved to a bearing of 180° and turned, then moved erratically from side to side on a straight course
Shape/Size/Color of Object(s): Point of light / unknown / orange-white
Distance to Object(s): Unknown
Height & Speed: Unknown; course about 300°
Number of Witnesses: Three: Capt. J. E. Spurgin, Capt. B. N. Stephan and Mrs. Stephan
Special Features/Characteristics: Observed during sextant practice for celestial navigation; clear sky; both officers were rated pilots in the Single Observer School at Ellington AFB
Case Status: Unidentified (Project Blue Book)
Source: Project Blue Book record card; Ellington AFB Air Intelligence Information Report IR 1-52 (May 23, 1952); Berliner; FUFOR Index (BBU 1219)
Summary/Description: Two pilots practicing celestial navigation outside Ellington AFB watched an orange-white light turn and dart erratically for a minute and a half.
Related Cases: San Antonio, May 29, 1952; Mayagüez, May 14, 1952
Detailed Report
The Air Intelligence Information Report (IR 1-52, dated May 23, 1952) from the Wing Intelligence office at Ellington Air Force Base describes an “unidentified light, thought to be a celestial phenomenon or strange flying object,” as seen by Capt. J. E. Spurgin, Capt. B. N. Stephan and Mrs. Stephan at about 2210 on May 20, 1952. The two officers were observing the stars in conjunction with their sextant practice at the home of Capt. Stephan. Mrs. Stephan was also present, and the sighting was “made and faithfully corroborated by all three witnesses.”
Capt. Spurgin was a rated pilot with ten years of commissioned service and about 1,400 hours of flying time; Capt. Stephan was a rated pilot with 8½ years of commissioned service and about 2,000 hours. Both were at that time in the Single Observer School at Ellington and were engaged in celestial navigation studies. Mrs. Stephan was not personally interviewed. In summary, the reporting officer wrote, “these officers with their long background experience in the field of aviation made a competent observation. What it was would be a matter of conjecture.”
The Blue Book card describes an orange-white light on a course of 300°, which came from about 45° elevation at 360°, moved to a 180° bearing and made a turn, then moved erratically from side to side on a straight course for about 90 seconds under a clear sky. The evaluation: Unknown, and the case is carried as UNIDENTIFIED in Blue Book’s 11–31 May table.
RESEARCHER’S NOTES
Trained Observers with a Sextant
- Who they were: Both observers were rated pilots in a navigator program, with a sextant in hand and a sky they were practicing to read.
- Evaluation: Blue Book rated it Unknown; the wing intelligence report used “B-2” and called the sighting competent.
- Names: The names Spurgin and Stephan appear on the Air Intelligence report and match your earlier page entry.
- Gaps: There are no weather balloon, aircraft or astronomical checks recorded; the report gives no distance, altitude or size.
Houston is a small, solid case: three witnesses, two of them professional pilots, a clear sky and a light that behaved wrongly for a star, a plane or a planet. Blue Book evaluated it Unknown, and the wing intelligence officer’s own judgment, that the observation was competent and the cause conjecture, is where it still stands.
“…these officers with their long background experience in the field of aviation made a competent observation. What it was would be a matter of conjecture.”
— Ellington AFB Wing Intelligence, Houston, Texas, May 23, 1952
