Project Blue Book Case File
Fernloy, NevadaOctober 1956
Summary
On the night of October 15-16, 1956, a resident of Fernley, Nevada saw a bright, cigar-shaped object in the sky. The observer watched it through binoculars for 40 to 45 minutes as it moved across the desert near his home. The object appeared to be roughly the size of a pea held at arm's length and glowed with shifting colors: red, blue, green, and gold. What stood out most was what looked like an exhaust trail running along the object's length.
The object first appeared in the southeast at an elevation of about 25 to 30 degrees above the horizon. It hovered in place for most of the observation. The observer estimated its altitude at between 5,000 and 7,500 feet, though he admitted this was a rough guess. As the object traveled, it moved from a southwest direction to a northwest heading, covering about 30 miles. When it finally departed, it accelerated to what the observer estimated as 250 to 300 miles per hour in level flight, disappearing from view in 7 to 10 seconds.
The Air Force investigator noted several details that cut both ways. The object's apparent low altitude and slow speed during most of the sighting were unusual. Its rapid acceleration at the end was also hard to explain. However, the investigator considered whether the observer might have misidentified an equipped weather balloon (a balloon designed to carry instruments to measure atmospheric conditions) at low altitude, which would be rare but possible. The file also mentions that a balloon was launched from Verona on October 15-16 and could potentially have drifted toward the area, though estimated locations left much room for error. The investigator noted that the distinct exhaust appearance and high final speed did not strongly support a balloon explanation.
The case file offers no definitive conclusion about what the object was. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, consisting of 7 pages.
Reported location
Fernloy, Nevada
Date of incident
October 1956
State / country
NV / US
Page count
7 scanned pages
USAF evaluation
unknown
Microfilm
T1206, Roll 26