Miami, FloridaMarch 1962

In March 1962, an amateur astronomer in Miami, Florida, photographed mysterious lights that moved across the sky in just 17 seconds. The observer had actually seen similar objects once before, in January of that year, and this time captured them on film while working on a science fair project about astrophotography.

On the evening of March 6 at 8:35 p.m., the astronomer was taking a long camera exposure of the Perseus region of the sky when four objects in diamond formation suddenly appeared in the northeastern sky. They glowed orange-red and seemed to be flying at a low altitude, between 15,000 and 30,000 feet. The objects traveled directly westward across the entire sky before vanishing into the northwestern horizon. When the observer aimed binoculars at them, the objects appeared as small discs with a diffused, star-like center, too small to see clearly even through the binoculars.

The photograph proved more revealing than what the naked eye could detect. When the developed film was processed, it showed three objects of magnitude 1.9 (a measure of brightness) whose trails overlapped on the film, plus a fifth, fainter object of magnitude 4.5 that had not been visible to the observer directly. This suggested the objects were moving too fast for the eye to catch everything the camera recorded.

The case reached the attention of Dr. J. Allen Hynek, the astronomer who directed the U.S. Air Force's official UFO investigation. In a letter dated May 23, 1962, Hynek forwarded the observer's report to Air Force officials and recommended it be discussed seriously, noting the reliability of the witnesses and the photographic evidence. However, the Air Force's official conclusion, listed on the case card, suggested that the lights were most probably caused by an aircraft. The analysis noted that the speed and description of the objects were consistent with aircraft lights, though no plane had been reported in the area at the time.

The complete case file, including the original observer's letter, photographs, and Air Force analysis, is reproduced below as held by the National Archives across 12 pages of microfilm.