Las Cruces, New MexicoJanuary 1962

Insufficient Data

Summary

On January 15, 1962, a civilian witness reported an object near Las Cruces, New Mexico. The sighting was made at about 1224 GMT and lasted about 5 to 10 seconds. The witness, who was photographing a satellite at the time, saw it with the naked eye.

The object was greenish-white and seemed to be emitting sparks. It was far brighter than any planet. It traveled from west to east on an almost horizontal path, slanting slightly downward. It was only about 10 degrees above the horizon and faded from sight due north of the observer.

The Air Force record card lists this case as probably astronomical, a meteor. The card notes the witness said it was a meteor and that the description fit a classic fireball. The card states there was no evidence the object was not a meteor.

Reported location

Las Cruces, New Mexico

Date of incident

January 1962

State / country

NM / US

Page count

3 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 44

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 3

View transcribed text

I ———
PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD
1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS
) a nN : 0 Was Balloon
: 15 Jan 62 Las Cruces, New Mexico 8 Prabobly Balloon
3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION MY PRRDREY WRETS
SEG ES eC % a O Was Aircraft
Local ; : dT Ground-Visual 0 Ground-Rador a Probably Aircrafy
GMT 15/ 1224 D AirVYisual D Air-Intercept Radar 0 Possibly Airerafe
S. PHOTOS - SOURCE O Was Astronomical
0 Yes BIO [or &X Probably Astronomicalleteor
} B No Civilian OD Possibly Astronomical
7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE AE i sin:
; 0 Insufficient Dato for Evaluation
b sec one : W=-1 0 Unknown
10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS
Gra2enish-white object =2mitting sparks. Witness indicated that it was a meteor.
Travelad on a horizontal path and was Descrirtion fits that of a classic "fire
brighter than any planet. ball.” There is no evideace available i
this report which indicates that the
object was not a meteor.
ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP $2)
ony

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28996052