COLUMBUS, OHIOJuly 1960

Insufficient Data

Summary

On the night of July 24, 1960, several residents in and around Columbus, Ohio saw a bright object streak across the sky. The object had a brilliant white tail and moved from east to west. It was visible for only a few seconds. Local standard time was recorded as 2045 (8:45 p.m.), though the exact duration and details of the sighting vary slightly in witness accounts.

The object was described as brighter than a star and appeared to throw off sparks. Witnesses reported that its color varied, with some seeing blue, some green, and some orange hues. The object moved at a constant speed across the sky before breaking up in a shower of sparks and disappearing.

The Air Force received multiple witness reports and compiled questionnaires from observers. Based on the evidence, the file notes indicate the sighting was most likely a meteor, which would explain the bright light, the colored tail, the sparks, and the brief duration of the phenomenon.

The full case file, consisting of 21 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.

Reported location

COLUMBUS, OHIO

Date of incident

July 1960

State / country

OH / US

Page count

21 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 39

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 21

View transcribed text

] ’ PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD |
3 1. DATE " 2. LOCATION CCN BYS oO Pr 12. CONCLUSIONS
v /

: ; 24 Jul io O Wes Bolloon

{ is DRT, Q Probably Belleon

; 3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4 TYPE OF OBSERVATION O Possibly Bellon

] 2045 v O Was Aleroft

1 Locol PR Ground: Visual O Ground-Roder a Probably A.

{ GMT 2 01452 O Air Viel O Air-Intercop? Rader O Possibly Aireraht

i 5. PHOTOS ay JOURCE g BD

E eos 1] mi

1 Ne Civilien 0 Possibly Astrononitedt a
§ 7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE TER NR w—
3 O Insufficient Date for Evaluation
1 2-5 sec one E-SE 0 Unknown

4 10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS

3 Mulzi sightings of object described as brighter| Multiple sighting of meteor.

E | +han star and throwing off parks. Cclor varied

E some blue. some green, some oranges. Moved at

4 constant speed and broke up in shower of sparks

ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP $2)
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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28987870