Corona, New MexicoJanuary 1950

Unidentified

Summary

On the evening of January 7, 1950, a Captain stationed at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico saw something unusual while driving south of Corona. The object appeared as a bright light descending from the southwest at a steep angle, roughly 60 degrees from the horizon. It lasted about 10 seconds from first sighting to disappearance.

The Captain described the object as round, about the size of a cup held at arm's length. Its color shifted as it moved. When he first spotted it, the object glowed yellowish white with a trail of flame behind it. As it descended, the object became more orange. When it leveled off near a mountain ridge and traveled eastward, it turned bright blue-green and remained that color until it dropped behind the mountains and vanished from view.

The investigator noted that the object descended at roughly the same speed as a fast jet fighter, though it seemed to slow as it approached the mountain crest. The observer reported no sound, no visible support or propulsion system (aside from the flame trail), and good control and stability throughout the sighting. A telephone company manager from Carrizozo, New Mexico, was mentioned as a potential witness. Investigators checked with Holloman Air Force Base's weather station, electronics branch, and the nearby White Sands Proving Ground. None reported unusual weather conditions, active radar, or any testing devices launched in the area at that time.

The Air Force evaluated this sighting as a meteor observation. The full case file, which consists of 6 pages, is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.

Reported location

Corona, New Mexico

Date of incident

January 1950

State / country

NM / US

Page count

6 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unidentified

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 7

| | "PROJECT 10073 RECORD 1. DATE . TIME GROUP 2. OCATION 7 January 50 18/04,152 Corona, New Mexico - 3. SOURCE 10. CONCLUSION Military Astro (METECR) 4. NUMBER OF OBJECTS One : Evaluated as a Meteor observation. 5. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION |11. BRIEF SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS 10 Seconds " When first sighted it was at 45 deg. Object descended at 6. TYPE OF OBSERVATION approximately 60 deg angle fram horizon to a positon just abote hori zon caused by the mountain range where it leveled out ard Ground -Viswl traveled approximately 10 deg East, at which time it dropped 7. COURSE behind the mountain range out of sight. First appearance of ¢bj was yellowish white. Object appeared to be mare orange than Descending to East originally with a trail of flame projecting out to its rear or 6. PHOTOS oposite the direction it was traveling. When it reached posifior : where it leveled cut it became a bright blue-green in color ard x6 og remined that color until it passed out of sight. Round ball 9. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE — O Yes 5 XXNo FORM FTD sep 63 0-329 (TDE) previous editions of this form may be used. | . “- y . 1)