West Roxbury, MassachusettsAugust 1960

Insufficient Data

Summary

On August 29, 1960, around 11:03 p.m., a resident of West Roxbury, Massachusetts saw a bright orange object moving across the night sky. The witness described it as resembling the head of a missile on fire or the flame from a jet aircraft. The object appeared to move in an oval pattern and stayed visible for approximately thirty seconds before vanishing. The witness said the stars were not very visible that night, though a few could be seen in some parts of the sky.

Curious about what they had seen, the witness reported the sighting to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. The Smithsonian referred the case to the Air Force Aerospace Technical Intelligence Center, or ATIC, for investigation. In October 1960, ATIC concluded that the witness had most likely observed a meteor. The investigation noted that the absence of a visible trail does not rule out a meteor, since some meteors leave trails while others do not. According to ATIC, most meteor trails fade quickly and may be too faint to see without optical aid. ATIC also dismissed the possibility that the object was a jet aircraft flame, reasoning that such flame is typically blue rather than orange and would not be bright enough from the witness's viewing angle.

This case file, consisting of 8 pages, is housed at the National Archives on microfilm roll T1206, Roll 39.

Reported location

West Roxbury, Massachusetts

Date of incident

August 1960

State / country

MA / US

Page count

8 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 39

1 _— PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD : y I. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS | : 20 A 50 Wa La & " - 00 Wos Bollioon 9 Aug © ast Roxbury, Massachusetts & Probobty Bolloon i BP TR TR I IRITIIT ISI N—=———=, “ot 1. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION sel To doth fl mi LC “> B : DY I sisi 0 Ground. Vi sve} o Ground-Roder a Was Aircraft : 20/0208% Q Probably Aircraft ] § Ly RD TAR 0 Aim Visvol O Air-intercept Radar | Possibly Aireroft § 9 Tew + SOURC 0 Was Astronomical 1 0 Yes Civili @ Probably Astrenemicel latecr 3 A Ne viilan : O Possibly Astronomical 4 17. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 3. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE CBIR, TCI WT E O Insufficient Date for Evaivation 3 30 sec one ITW=SW 0 Unknown p 110, BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS | | Brignt orange colored cb ject with appearance It is the ATIC conclusion that the wit- : | oF 22 nad or a missile on fire, Seemed to ness procably saw a meteor. a in an oval pattern. Blurred shave. | SEE A Es | | ATIC FORM 329 (REV 28 SEP 32) RB)