[ILLEGIBLE], November 1948 - Incident Number: [ILLEGIBLE]November 1948

In November 1948, Colonel S. of the New Mexico Military District reported seeing an unusual glowing object near Vaughn, New Mexico on two separate occasions, both times around 2130 hours (9:30 p.m.). The object appeared as a ball of light, roughly one foot in diameter, descending slowly and vertically toward the ground. The colonel described the color as bright white, like a miniature sun, then shifting to a fiery red as it fell.

On the first sighting, around November 3 or 4, the object descended from approximately 500 feet and burst into fragments about 100 to 200 feet above the ground. The fragments assumed a reddish color and descended like sparks, extinguishing before reaching the earth. The colonel had pulled over his car on Highway 60 and was close enough to watch the event from about 40 to 60 yards away, though he heard no sound. The same phenomenon occurred again on November 23, under nearly identical conditions, roughly ten miles away on the same highway. In both cases, the weather was clear and the colonel saw no aircraft.

The Air Force reviewed the incidents against routine weather balloon ascents conducted by the military and weather services in the area. Weather balloon releases from Albuquerque occurred near the times of the sightings. However, an Air Force weather officer noted that the exact sequence of events, repeated on three separate occasions with the same characteristics, made it difficult to explain the phenomena as a burning weather balloon. The Air Force evaluation at the time listed case 225 among incidents for which no explanation was evident, with insufficient evidence to reach a conclusion. The full case file, comprising 13 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.