San Francisco, Calif, November 1948 - Incident Number: 220November 1948

A science teacher in San Francisco watched a glowing yellow light streak across the night sky on November 29, 1948. The man was studying constellations in his backyard using binoculars when he spotted the object heading north-northwest at around 2115 hours (9:15 p.m.). He followed it through the binoculars for approximately seven seconds until it vanished behind a low fog bank over the Golden Gate Bridge. He described the object as spherical and steady-glowing, distinctly different from a comet or meteor because it neither streamed fire nor light. The object appeared to be traveling too fast to be an airplane.

The teacher estimated the object was between 35 and 40 degrees above the horizon. He noted that the night was exceptionally clear. Air Force investigators found him to be of above-average intelligence and reliable, though they noted he was nearsighted and had removed his glasses while using the binoculars, despite having 20-20 vision when wearing them. An attempt by investigators to trace the object's course using a star map produced no results, as the teacher could not provide even an approximate course after the sighting.

Investigators conducted a thorough canvass of the neighborhood but found no other witnesses to the event. They checked with airlines, checked criminal and subversive files, and interviewed the teacher's colleagues and acquaintances. All inquiries yielded negative results. The investigation file lists this case among those for which Dr. J. Allen Hynek, a consultant to the Air Force UFO program, assigned a categorization, though the file does not state what final explanation, if any, was determined. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 19 pages of scanned documents.