Tacoma, WashingtonJuly 1960

On the night of July 19, 1960, people living near Tacoma, Washington reported seeing an unusual object in the sky. One witness spotted a bright yellow circular ball that changed color to green and then disappeared behind trees. The sighting lasted only a fraction of a second. Neighbors had called the witness's attention to the object in the first place.

The U.S. Air Force investigated the report. A radar unit (Det 6, 10th Radar Bomb Scoring Squadron) did not become active until half an hour after the reported sighting, so it could not provide any electronic confirmation. The Air Force also checked with the weather service, which reported that no balloons had been in the area at that time. Clear skies and calm winds had prevailed during the observation.

The Air Force's analysis suggested the witness had most likely observed a meteor, specifically a "very large meteor which occasionally are known to flash green upon contact with the atmosphere." The brief duration of the sighting, lasting only a fraction of a second, supported this explanation. The file notes that the description of a bright ball changing colors is typical of a meteor entering Earth's atmosphere. The case was classified as "Probably Balloon" and later "Probably Meteor," though no definitive conclusion appears to have been reached.

The full case file, including 11 pages of original Air Force documents and supplementary reports, is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.