Project Blue Book Case File
37.20N 124.08W (Pacific), September 1962September 1962
Summary
On September 15, 1962, the crew of the SS Californian reported seeing a bright yellowish-green flare streak across the sky over the Pacific Ocean at coordinates 37.20 North, 124.08 West. The object was extremely bright, casting illumination nearly as strong as daylight across the ocean. The sighting lasted only three seconds.
The observation came to the U.S. Air Force through a message relayed from the ship. The message noted weather conditions at the time: northwest winds at 20 knots with moderate seas and 12 nautical miles of visibility. The object was moving toward the west at high speed.
The Air Force evaluated the sighting as a meteor. Case investigators noted that the duration of the event, only three seconds, was too brief for the object to have been a typical flare or a decaying piece of debris. The characteristics and brightness pattern matched those of a meteorite entering the atmosphere. The file contains 8 pages held by the National Archives.
Reported location
37.20N 124.08W (Pacific), September 1962
Date of incident
September 1962
State / country
? / XX
Page count
8 scanned pages
USAF evaluation
unknown
Microfilm
T1206, Roll 46