North Miami, FloridaMay 1960

On the evening of May 25, 1960, a woman in North Miami, Florida called the Air Force to report an unusual bright light in the sky. She had first spotted it around 10:35 p.m. while in her yard. The light was much brighter than the surrounding stars and appeared to move in short bursts, traveling roughly ten to twelve inches at a time over a period of twenty to thirty minutes. The object changed colors, shifting between greenish silver, reddish orange, and yellow. It had no tail, trail, or exhaust, and made no sound. The witness said the light seemed to move up and down in a repetitive pattern, as if struggling to gain altitude before dropping back to its original position.

Three other people also watched the object that night. A neighbor described the light as intense yellow with a reddish orange tinge. She saw it move about a foot in distance, bobble up and down several times, then shoot upward before dropping back. The witness was convinced it could not have been an airplane. The primary witness, a housewife with a responsible position in local business, submitted a detailed written account. She stated that her initial thought was that it might be a missile test from Cape Canaveral, but the object's behavior ruled that out. She noted that the light seemed to be its own source, with no visible object behind it, and that it appeared to be confined to an area roughly three feet by three feet from her point of view.

An Air Force officer arrived at the location after midnight, but the object could no longer be seen. The Air Force later requested detailed statements from all witnesses in accordance with regulations, which the witnesses provided in sworn affidavits. The analysis sheet included in the file concluded that the sighting was probably Jupiter. The planet was located southeast of the witnesses' position at the time of observation and was unusually close to Earth. With no brighter stars in that part of the sky, Jupiter would appear exceptionally bright and closer than its actual distance. The file states that the reported movement was probably due to atmospheric conditions, which can cause bright objects like planets to appear to move or shimmer.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 14 scanned pages.