Project Blue Book Case File
Randolph AFB, TexasDecember 1960
Summary
Two military weather observers at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas watched a bright, glowing object streak across the sky on the morning of December 5, 1960. The object appeared white with a reddish tint and trailed a tail about twice as long as the object itself. It moved in a roughly northward direction across the sky at a steep angle, staying visible for only three to five seconds before fading from view.
The Air Force investigators who reviewed the case concluded that the witnesses had most likely observed a meteor. The file notes that during the time of the sighting, Earth was passing through several meteor showers, and the object's appearance, bright glow, trailing tail, and level downward path all matched the characteristics of a meteor. While investigators acknowledged that the observers disagreed on some details of what they saw, the overall evidence pointed toward a natural astronomical event rather than an unidentified flying object.
The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives (8 pages).
Reported location
Randolph AFB, Texas
Date of incident
December 1960
State / country
TX / US
Page count
8 scanned pages
USAF evaluation
unknown
Microfilm
T1206, Roll 41