West Palm Beach, Fla., January 1959January 1959

On the evening of January 27, 1959, residents across a wide area reported seeing unusual objects in the sky. In West Palm Beach, Florida, witnesses described a fiery streak that crossed the sky shortly after an Atlas missile launched from Cape Canaveral, about 100 miles away. Other sightings were reported from Bermuda, the Flying Pan Shoals Lightship off the Carolina coast, and military personnel at Kindley Air Force Base in Bermuda.

The descriptions varied. Witnesses in Bermuda and an aircraft crew saw a cigar-shaped object with a long trail that glowed a dazzling white. Stars were visible through it, and it had a stationary light traveling with it. The object remained visible for about 20 to 22 minutes before disappearing straight up. Personnel at the Flying Pan Shoals Lightship reported a small red object with sparks fanning outward. This object approached from the west, moved toward the south-southeast while gaining altitude, and appeared to be spiralling with a luminous exhaust trail. It stayed in sight for approximately 12 minutes. At West Palm Beach, the object was described as the color of the moon with a long, vaporous tail.

The Air Force quickly investigated whether these sightings were connected to the Atlas missile launch that evening. The Atlas had lifted off at 2334Z (11:34 p.m.) on January 27 and was visible from Cape Canaveral for approximately six minutes at ranges of roughly 450 to 529 nautical miles. The flight was programmed to last about 30 minutes. Military intelligence officers noted that local radio news had reported the Atlas launch on January 27, and they concluded it was possible, even likely, that the objects reported above were the result of the missile firing.

The case file indicates the Air Force evaluation as "unknown," though the intelligence summary suggests the Atlas missile as the probable explanation. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives across 8 pages.