Falls Church, VirginiaMay 1961

In May 1961, an observer in Falls Church, Virginia reported seeing an unusual object in the night sky. The witness claimed to have watched the phenomenon over several nights. When a U.S. Air Force officer visited the location about a week after the initial sightings, the sky was overcast and the object could not be seen. A few nights later, conditions cleared, and the officer began observations around 19:55 (7:55 p.m.) using binoculars, a small reflector telescope, a compass, and a protractor to measure angles.

The officer observed a bright object stationary in the sky at an azimuth of 300 degrees and an altitude of 37 degrees, brighter than Venus and roughly the size of Venus. At 20:42 (8:42 p.m.), the object burst spectacularly. The officer immediately contacted the U.S. Weather Bureau office in Sterling, Virginia. The bureau confirmed it had launched a radiosonde balloon (a weather balloon used to measure atmospheric conditions) shortly after 12:00 noon that same day, and the balloon had burst at approximately 20:42, matching the officer's observations of time, direction, and altitude precisely.

When the officer spoke with the original witness, the witness insisted the earlier sightings had not been the balloon, claiming he had examined those objects through a refractor telescope and they appeared different from what he saw through binoculars and a spotting scope previously. The officer concluded the witness would not be convinced, having provided him with balloon launch schedules and information about how balloon positions vary nightly due to high altitude winds.

The Air Force evaluated this case as "probably balloon," noting that the sighting correlated with a known radiosonde balloon launch and burst. The complete case file, consisting of 42 pages, is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.