Project Blue Book Case File
Fort Yukon, AlaskaDecember 1960
Summary
On the night of December 6, 1960, someone near Fort Yukon, Alaska saw a bright light in the sky that lasted only two to three seconds. The observer was positioned about one and a half miles southeast of the town. According to the report, the object appeared as a round shape with a white center and green edges, roughly the size of a quart or baseball at arm's length. It brightened noticeably during the sighting.
The object moved in a straight line across the sky. It first appeared at an elevation of approximately 20 degrees above the horizon, traveling at an azimuth (compass direction) of around 105 degrees. It then descended to the horizon at an azimuth of about 187 degrees, moving down at a steep angle. The light disappeared almost instantly when it reached the horizon.
The observer watched from the ground during nighttime hours. Weather conditions at the time are difficult to read in the file due to OCR degradation, though the file notes that visibility was good. The observation lasted no more than a few seconds from start to finish.
The Air Force investigators noted in their conclusions that a satellite reentering the atmosphere had been reported on December 5, 1960. They found the object's description and brief duration consistent with a meteor. The file suggests it was improbable that the object was a satellite. The Air Force marked the case as "unknown" in its official evaluation, though the analysis points toward a natural atmospheric phenomenon.
The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, 8 pages.
Reported location
Fort Yukon, Alaska
Date of incident
December 1960
State / country
AK / US
Page count
8 scanned pages
USAF evaluation
unknown
Microfilm
T1206, Roll 41