Hartford, ConnecticutSeptember 1960

On the night of September 4, 1960, at 8:15 p.m., a woman stood in the rear hallway of her apartment building in Hartford, Connecticut, when she heard a loud, swishing noise from above. She stepped onto the back porch and saw what she described as a cone of green fire, about one foot tall, hovering near a garbage shed in the yard. The object was smoking heavily. A neighbor on an upper floor reported seeing glowing embers on the ground. Within minutes, the residents began searching the area with a flashlight and found a warm spot in the dirt where the object appeared to have struck. They gathered pieces of material scattered around the impact site, some with a white crust on the surface. The Hartford police were called and eventually took possession of the materials for investigation.

The Air Force became interested in the case and sent scientists to conduct a detailed chemical analysis of the recovered fragments. The material samples turned out to be a complex mixture of elements. The metallic portions contained high concentrations of aluminum, barium, silicon, magnesium, iron, manganese, and chromium. The carbonaceous (carbon-based) samples showed composition different from typical coal or meteoritic material found in the area. Some samples also contained elements like titanium, nickel, copper, and calcium. Scientists noted unusual surface properties, including areas of high barium concentration that suggested the material had been exposed to intense heat.

Investigators noted that the trajectory analysis was limited because the landing site was hemmed in by apartment buildings, utility poles, and fences. However, witnesses reported that the object sounded like it came from the north, while one observer who saw it in the air suggested the western direction was more likely. A separate related fall was later reported to have occurred in nearby Woodbridge, Connecticut, though at a different time. That particle was allegedly found on a burned spot on an asphalt driveway and was smaller and largely intact, with only scattered metallic dust around it.

The analysis raised questions but produced no definitive answer about the material's origin. Scientists ruled out that it was a simple meteorite. Some speculated it might be debris from a satellite, though analysis did not conclusively confirm this. The material was eventually released to researchers at Whitehall-Rand, a private consulting firm, for further investigation, and samples were also provided to the Smithsonian Institution.

The Air Force's evaluation of the case was listed as unknown. The full case file, comprising 73 pages held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.