Denver, Colo, August 1959August 1959

In August 1959, multiple observers in the Denver, Colorado area reported seeing a bright object streak across the daytime sky. The object appeared light blue to white in color and traveled in a straight line at a steep downward angle. Different witnesses described slightly different details. Some said it looked like a point of light with a tail or exhaust trail. One observer described it as roughly cylindrical, with a mirror-like metallic shine at the front and a bluish-white glow at the rear, as if something were burning. The sightings lasted only a fraction of a second to about 15 seconds before the object disappeared behind clouds or a hill on the horizon and did not reappear.

The Air Force interviewed multiple witnesses, all of whom were described as mature men with good educational backgrounds. Some were driving near a military test area when they saw the object descending from east to west at roughly a 55-degree angle. They were reluctant to pinpoint where the object might have landed, though one group thought it could have come down in the area west of a burn range. No witnesses reported hearing sounds or seeing smoke. Weather conditions at the time showed scattered clouds at 8,200 and 12,000 feet, with visibility of roughly 8 miles.

The Air Force analysis noted that the object's trajectory and appearance were very similar to a falling meteor, and the bright contrast it made against the daytime sky made it look smaller than it might have actually been. The file concludes that this was probably a meteor observation.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, with a total of 9 pages.