Danby, CaliforniaSeptember 1958

In early October 1958, three men working near a tungsten mill at Railroad Danby, California noticed a strong, bright glow in the northwest sky near the Clipper Mountains. When they looked at it through a small telescope the next day, the glow became two distinct objects. The observers described them as oblong shaped, like aircraft fuselages, with a silvery aluminum color. Each object appeared to be roughly 15 feet long and 5 feet tall, positioned about four miles away and separated by roughly 40 feet. The glow lasted about 2.5 hours before fading as the sun lowered in the sky.

Intrigued by the sighting, the three men drove toward the location and searched the area on foot for several hours but found no physical evidence of any object. A few days later, two of the men remembered that the glow returned almost daily at the same time and place. Using binoculars, they spotted what appeared to be guy wires and rods radiating from the objects. They then realized the source of the mystery, the sun was reflecting off two tall radio antennas used by the California Highway Patrol at Route 66 near Danby. The antennas stood roughly 20 feet above the treeline and were spaced about 20 feet apart.

An Air Force investigation in March 1959 confirmed this explanation. Investigators examined the antennas and determined that during early October, at around 4 p.m., the sun's angle was precisely right to create a bright reflection visible from Railroad Danby. This seasonal and time dependent reflection explained why the phenomenon seemed unusual to observers who were familiar with the area but had not witnessed this particular optical effect before. The case was concluded as an optical illusion caused by sunlight reflecting off radio antennas.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, consisting of 26 pages.