SE Of Roswell, New MexicoApril 1960

Insufficient Data

Summary

# Summary

In April 1960, a civilian observer near Roswell, New Mexico witnessed an unusual object in the sky for about three seconds. The object appeared two to three times brighter than Venus and displayed a greenish-white color. It had a tail like a comet and moved straight downward at a rate slower than a typical meteor. The witness reported that the object caused radio interference.

The Air Force investigator noted in the case file comments that while a satellite reentry was initially considered, the duration of the sighting and the greenish color did not match typical satellite decay patterns. The investigator concluded it was probable that the object observed was a meteor. The file evaluation was listed as unknown.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 7 pages of scanned documents.

Reported location

SE Of Roswell, New Mexico

Date of incident

April 1960

State / country

NM / US

Page count

7 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 38

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 7

View transcribed text

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WILLIAMS, JAmes PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD i
1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS {
bt:
nA (PE Lr WS at x i 0 Was Bolloon q
sn Atle L960 of of Roswell, New Mexico 0 Probably Bolloon
ee a ree eS Be Se BAA etl 5 et A er A A 8 ee BB 1 5 Pn A et 5 tle Ot. i ne mt en te. : 5) I n
3. DATE-TIME GROUP, ; i. TYPE OF OBSERVATION  Nesmmy oe
CB - J v ’ « ; {
eZ SUG] ) X% ; . O Was Alicroft
Local PRISE sordid POR SEW [2] Ground-Vi sual 0 Ground Rodoy 0 Probobly Aircraft
fd oe) old wn Al
emt 06/0382 1 Air Viszsuo) 0 Air-lnterzent Radar DO Possibly Aireraft,
5, PHOTOS 8. SGURCE 5 feo "TY Woes Astromomizel L220
: : 0 Yes O° Probobly Astronomical
Bia Civilian ; 0 Possibly Astronomical |
7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECYS | 9. COURSE CSR POE CTO SE
0 Insufficient Dota for Evaluation
3 seconds One Dascending 0 Unknown |
19, BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING Ti. COMMENTS
iy ; ~ x . ; § Qi nd TT Sadan dl sLeliiad | i ped oy he :
Object 2-3 times bigger than Venus with wputnik Lil roentered this dete,
: a tail like a comet going straight down however tha duration of the signting
at a rate slower than a metsor observed and the greenish color do net conform ]
for thrae seconds. Lookad like an A to observation of a Savkllite Decay
LOX LAT28 SeCOlliSe LOOK2U LlKe an a on ; oJ
fire. Greenish white color. Did not manuver and tend to rule out Reentry, Lt is
| and caused radio interference. probable thal the object observed was
it a metsor,
1
ATIC FORM 329 (REY 25 SEP 52)
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ESR ;
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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28986414