Anaheim (Disneyland), Cal., November 1957November 1957

In the early morning hours of November 6, 1957, a 19-year-old service station attendant driving near Disneyland in Anaheim, California, saw a strange light in the sky and photographed it. The object appeared to be a cigar-shaped, fuzzy light with a pinkish-red color, hovering at about 65 degrees above the horizon. The sighting lasted roughly 30 to 40 seconds. The photographer used a Graflex Century camera with settings of f/4.5, a shutter speed of 1/10 of a second, and focused at infinity.

The photograph soon became public. It appeared on nationwide television on November 8 and 9, 1957, and was later submitted to LIFE magazine. The attention prompted the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense to request an Air Force investigation. The Air Force moved quickly, and investigators from the 1006th Air Intelligence Service Squadron interviewed the photographer on November 9, 1957.

However, the Air Force's analysis concluded the photograph was probably a hoax. Technical photographic experts found multiple problems with the image. The photograph appeared to have been created using multiple exposures or trick techniques. The bright light with a halo effect on the object's rear end was unlikely to be physically part of a single object, suggesting it came from a separate exposure. Investigators also noted that the photographer's detailed written account showed unusual knowledge of photography and seemed designed to preemptively answer questions critics might raise about trick photography. The camera settings and exposure times the photographer described did not match the actual appearance of the negative, according to tests conducted by Air Force photographers.

The investigators considered several mundane explanations. Sodium vapor lights from the nearby Santa Ana Freeway, in the distance and at certain angles, could resemble the object in the photograph. Other possibilities included a light swinging from a rope or a flare suspended from a balloon. When the investigating officer reviewed circumstances at Disneyland, the park's security chief reported it was closed that night and no unusual activity occurred. No aircraft, blimps, or other conventional objects were reported in the area at the time. The Goodyear Blimp, formerly stationed at Long Beach, had not been in the area for several months. Observatories and ground observation posts reported nothing unusual.

Though the Air Force could not identify the object with absolute certainty, the file indicates the agency believed this was an attempted hoax rather than a genuine sighting. The case was marked "unknown" in the Project Blue Book system, and the complete case file, comprising 39 pages, is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.