Project Blue Book Case File
Lynbrook, Long Island, New YorkDecember 1960
Summary
On a December evening in 1960, an observer in Lynbrook on Long Island, New York, watched an object appear in the night sky that resembled a newly risen harvest moon. The object seemed to glow with the same pale color as the moon itself and was estimated to be about the same size. Over the course of the sighting, the object faded and reappeared once, then grew progressively dimmer before vanishing entirely.
The Air Force investigators noted in their report that the object's appearance and disappearance were likely caused by clouds moving across the line of sight. Low-hanging clouds in the area were probably reflecting light, creating the illusion of an object growing larger and smaller. The investigators also observed that if anything genuinely unusual had occurred in the area during the early evening hours, it would almost certainly have been reported by the many people normally outdoors at that time in a residential community.
The Air Force marked this case as unidentified on its official record card, though the case summary suggests the most probable explanation was a cloud reflecting light. No radar confirmation, multiple witnesses, or additional investigation appears in the available file pages.
The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 14 pages.
Reported location
Lynbrook, Long Island, New York
Date of incident
December 1960
State / country
NY / US
Page count
14 scanned pages
USAF evaluation
unidentified
Microfilm
T1206, Roll 41