Nome, AlaskaMarch 1960

On the evening of March 27, 1960, people across the Nome, Alaska area reported seeing a brilliant, fast-moving object in the night sky. The sighting lasted about twenty seconds. A young girl in Nome saw a round, fiery orange-red object traveling from southeast to northwest. It flashed bright blue and then split into two pieces before disappearing completely. She also heard a swishing noise as the object traveled.

Other witnesses in the area reported similar sightings. A technician at Anvil Mountain, four miles north of Nome, was working inside an illuminated building when he saw a white light so bright that he could see through a window the silhouette of a black antenna 150 feet from the building. He counted what he thought were four separate flashes over about ten seconds. A nearby resident also observed two flashes of light through his window, each lasting about two seconds and separated by one second. He said the flashes resembled arc welding light.

Investigators also received reports from Teller, Alaska, located across the water from Nome. Two Eskimo residents reported individual sightings of an object traveling from northwest to southeast. One observer described it as elongated, while the other said it was round. Both heard a noise similar to thunder that they believed occurred when the object hit the ground southeast of Teller.

The Air Force investigators concluded that the object was probably an extremely brilliant meteor of the type known as a fireball. These objects are known to explode, which would explain the multiple flashes witnesses observed. Fireballs also produce thunder-like sounds when they explode, which matches the reports from multiple observers. The investigating officer was Major Milton J. Karell, Chief of Intelligence for the 31st Air Division. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives across 8 pages.