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| {{Short description|Unidentified flying objects}} | |||
| A number of so-called '''Green Fireballs''' were reported in the skies of the southwestern ], particularly ], beginning in late ]. Such sightings worried some in the government, who noted that the reports were often made near to sensitive research and military installations, such as ]. | |||
| '''Green fireballs''' are a type of ] (UFO) that has been reported since the early 1950s. Early sightings primarily occurred in the ], particularly in ]. Although some ] and ufology organizations consider green fireballs to be of artificial extraterrestrial origin, mainstream explanations have been provided, including natural ]s. | |||
| ==Reports and responses== | |||
| The earliest reports came from ], 1948. Two separate pilots in ] asserted that they’d each seen a dim green light, though about 20 minutes apart. Each pilot declared the lights were not ]s, but resembled ]s. The next night, a similar green light was spotted for a few seconds over a secret atomic bomber base at ]. | |||
| Early observations of green fireballs date to late 1948 ], and include reports from two plane crews, one civilian and the other military, on the night of December 5, 1948. These crews described the observed fireballs as a bright "green ball of fire" and "like a huge green meteor".<ref name=ruppelt1>Ruppelt, Edward J. (1956) "", DoubleDay</ref> On December 8 another aerial observation of a green fireball was reported by two pilots.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.project1947.com/gfb/gfbchron.html|title=Green Fireball Chronology|last=Carpenter|first=Joel|website=Project 1947}}</ref> In a letter to the ] dated December 20, ], an ] from the ], wrote (as reported by the ufologist ]<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Government UFO Files: The Conspiracy of Cover-Up|last=Randle|first=Kevin D|publisher=Visible Ink Press|year=2014|isbn=9781578594986|pages=109}}</ref>) that the observed objects were atypical of meteors. On January 13, 1949, the Director of Army Intelligence from Fourth Army Headquarters in Texas wrote that the green fireballs " the result of radiological warfare experiments by a foreign power" and that they "are of such great importance, especially as they are occurring in the vicinity of sensitive installations, that a scientific board ...study the situation."<ref name=":0" /> | |||
| A February 1949 conference at ] attended by members of ], scientists including ] and ], and military personnel was unable to identify the origin of the observed green fireballs; secret conferences at Los Alamos and elsewhere, later in 1949 and addressing green fireballs, were also claimed by ] and ufologists including ] to have convened.<ref name=ruppelt1/><ref name=clark1 > Clark, Jerome (1956) "The UFO Book: Encyclopedia of the Extraterrestrial", Visible Ink Press</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.project1947.com/gfb/cap21649.html|title=DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES AIR FORCE WASHINGTON|date=March 1949|website=Project 1947}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.cufos.org/UFO_History_Gross/1949_01-06_History_2ED.pdf|title=UFOs: A HISTORY January - June 1949|last=E. Gross|first=Loren|date=1982|website=Center for UFO Studies|access-date=2018-09-26|archive-date=2021-02-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214075442/http://cufos.org/UFO_History_Gross/1949_01-06_History_2ED.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In December 1949 Project Twinkle, a network of green fireball observation and photographic units, was established but never fully implemented. It was discontinued two years later, with the official conclusion that the phenomena were likely natural in origin.<ref name=ruppelt1/><ref name=clark1/> | |||
| The ] (AFOSI) began an official inquiry the day after the Kirtland AFB sighting. | |||
| The theoretical astrophysicist and UFO skeptic ] claimed to have observed in May 1949 a green fireball near ], which he later considered to be an ordinary meteor.<ref>Menzel letter, May 16, 1949, cited at an Air Force Scientific Advisory Board meeting on the green fireballs in Washington, D.C., Nov. 3, 1949. The quoted section read, "Circumstances force me to conclude that the phenomena described are actually real. With regard to Dr. Kaplan's explanation, which deserves very serious consideration, I merely raise the question as to why the phenomenon seems to be confined to the Alamogordo region."</ref><ref>For example, in contrast to his 1949 private statement to the Air Force that he didn't find the meteor explanation totally adequate, Menzel later wrote in his UFO debunking book "The UFO Enigma" (1977) with Ernest Tavres that, "He and several other astronomers present observed the bright green object as it slowly traversed the northern sector of the heavens, moving from east to west: they quickly and unequivocally identified it as a meteor, or bolide..."</ref> Green fireballs have more recently been observed in Japan,<ref>{{Cite news|title=Mysterious green light 'fireball' spotted in Japan sky|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=November 2, 2016|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/02/mysterious-green-light-fireball-spotted-in-japan-sky/}}</ref> Australia, West Virginia and Tennessee.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Flashy Fireball Lights Up Sky Above West Virginia And Tennessee|website=space.com|date=August 2, 2023|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/peopleandplaces/flashy-fireball-lights-up-sky-above-west-virginia-and-tennessee/vi-AA1fIFud?rc=1&ocid=socialshare&cvid=36d03317139c4b7bcbd2a08be94631c7&ei=24}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite news|title=Fireball that lit up Pilbara sky 'something special', but scientists not exactly sure what|newspaper=ABC News|date=June 15, 2020|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-15/green-glowing-space-object-filmed-over-pilbara/12355358}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Ominous Green Fireball Lights Up Skies Over Australian Outback|newspaper=Gizmodo|date=June 15, 2020|url=https://gizmodo.com/ominous-green-fireball-lights-up-skies-over-australian-1844039645}}</ref> | |||
| Two such Air Force investigators--both of whom were experienced pilots--themselves witnessed a green fireball while flying an aircraft the evening of December 8. They said it was about 2000 feet above their craft, roughly resembling the green flares commonly used by the Air Force, though "much more intense" and apparently "considerably brighter". Their report stated that the light was "definitely larger and more brilliant than a shooting star, meteor or flare." The light lasted only a few seconds, moving "almost flat and parallel to the earth". The light’s "trajectory then dropped off rapidly" leaving "a trail of fragments reddish orange in color" which then fell towards the ground. | |||
| ==Explanations== | |||
| ] Similar sightings were reported, and the Air Force consulted ], an ] from the ] and a world renowned ] expert who had previously worked on secret military projects. La Paz himself saw a "green fireball" on December 12 and determined by ] that the center of its ] was straight over ]. In a classified letter to the Air Force on December 20, La Paz wrote that the object moved far too slowly to have been a ], and furthermore, left no "trail of sparks or dust cloud" as would be typical of meteors flying at low altitudes. Other anomalous characterics were the intense lime-green color, low altitude of only 8-10 miles yet exhibiting no sound, flat rather than arced trajectory, and turning on and off like a light switch. Later he was to add that the sightings were confined almost entirely to northern New Mexico and no fragments were ever found despite extensive searches using previously successful ] techniques. | |||
| ].]] | |||
| Some ufologists consider green fireballs to be of artificial, extraterrestrial origin.<ref name=ruppelt1/><ref name=clark1/> Beyond meteors/bolides, outlier scientific explanations include sequelae of atomic weapons tests, including clouds of ], lunar material ejected from meteor impacts on the Moon's surface, and aircraft associated with secret military projects.<ref name="Steiger">{{cite book |last1=Steiger |first1=Brad |title=Project Blue Book |date=1987-05-12 |publisher=Ballantine Books |isbn=978-0345345257 }}</ref> | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| La Paz suggested that security patrols at ] should attempt to ] the green fireballs. However the duration of the fireballs was so brief (1-5 seconds) and the onset so unexpected that they were unsuccessful. Other green fireball sightings occurred over ] on December 11, 13, 14, 20, 28, and January 6, 1949, raising the level of concern by security and military intelligence. | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| ==References== | |||
| On January 13, 1949, the following message was sent to the Director of Army Intelligence from Fourth Army Headquarters in Texas: "Agencies in New Mexico are greatly concerned. ...Some foreign power making 'sensing shots' with some superstratosphere devise designed to be self-disintegrating. ...The phenomena the result of radiological warfare experiments by a foreign power. ...These incidents are of such great importance, expecially as they are occurring in the vicinity of sensitive installations, that a scientific board be sent ...to study the situation. | |||
| {{Reflist}} | |||
| {{refbegin}} | |||
| ⚫ | ==Sources== | ||
| On January 30, the brightest and most widely seen green fireball sighting occurred near ], New Mexico. The next day the ] was informed by Air Force intelligence that ] and the fireballs were classified ]. La Paz interviewed hundreds of witnesses, with help from the FBI and military intelligence, and again tried to recover fragments by triangulating a trajectory, but was again unsuccessful. | |||
| ⚫ | * ], ''The UFO Book: Encyclopedia of the Extraterrestrial'', Visible Ink Press, 1998. | ||
| ⚫ | * ], '']'', 1956, Chapt. 4 | ||
| ⚫ | * ], ''Project Blue Book'', Ballantine Books, 1976 | ||
| {{refend}} | |||
| After his own sighting and interviewing numerous witnesses, La Paz had concluded that "green fireballs" were an artificial phenomenon. On February 8 he met with Dr. ], a ] ] and member of the ]. Kaplan informed La Paz that he knew of no secret military projects that could explain the fireballs. He found La Paz's data on the fireballs unsettling and felt an investigation was needed in the name of ]. | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| La Paz's informal scientific study for the Air Force quickly became formal, being called the “Conference on Aerial Phenomena," convening at ] in mid-February to review the data. The assembled people--both military personnel and civilian scientists--were informed that the “green fireballs” were not the result of any secret military project. La Paz reiterated that he was absolutely convinced the green fireballs were not conventional fireballs or meteorites. Dr. ] felt they couldn't be material objects because they made no sound and suggested they might be some unknown atmospheric electrical phenomena. In any event, he thought they couldn't be foreign probes of some kind. | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| ⚫ | * | ||
| * {{APOD |date=20 November 1998 |title=Photo of a meteor with a greenish tint in tail}} | |||
| * | |||
| {{UFOs}} | |||
| The scientists felt that a network of instrument stations should be established to photograph and analyze the fireballs. Despite the recommendation and the continuation of the green fireballs at a rate of about half a dozen a month, La Paz and AFOSI oddly encountered both resistance and apathy from Air Force authorities responsible for setting up such a network. | |||
| ] | |||
| By April ], similar sights were reported over a nuclear-weapons storage facility at ] in ]. The intrusions were deemed so serious that, unlike the Air Force, the Army quickly set up an observation network. Sightings continued through August, the most spectacular being on June 6 when a hovering orange light, 30 to 70 feet across and a mile in the air was spotted. Finally it started moving in level flight, then burst into small particles. | |||
| On July 24, a green fireball was observed falling close to ], New Mexico. Dust samples were collected at the School of Mines there and were found to contain large particles of ]. La Paz found this highly significant since copper burns with the same yellow-green color characteristic of the green fireballs. He also noted that if the copper particles came from the green fireballs, then they couldn't be conventional meteorites, since copper was never found in dust of meteoritic origin. La Paz suggested that further air and ground samples be taken in areas where the fireballs were seen. | |||
| At the same time, AFOSI informed La Paz on investigations of "anomalous luminous phenomena" between early June and early August. Many of the green fireballs were now descending on vertical paths, whereas initially they almost always traveled horizontally. | |||
| Another Los Alamos conference convened on October 14. No one disputed the reality of the phenomena and nobody could explain it. Among the puzzles was the sudden onset and the high concentration of sightings in New Mexico, quite unlike a natural phenomena. Despite this, it was decided the fireballs were probably atmospheric in origin. Instrumented observations -- photographic, triangulation, and spectroscopic -- were deemed essential to solving the mystery. | |||
| On November 3, Dr. Kaplan brought the plan to the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board at the ]. Kaplan by this time had decided the fireballs might be a new type of rare meteor. Nonetheless, most of the scientists remained puzzled by the brightness, trajectories, and absence of sound. Seeming to contradict his meteor hypothesis, Kaplan also said, "this high selectivity of direction seems to indicate that some group was trying to pinpoint Los Alamos with a new sort of weapon." Concerns were expressed about the possibility of panic and the need for continued secrecy. | |||
| Finally, on December 20, after nearly a year of foot-dragging, the instrument observation program was approved and ] was born. The first instrument post (consisting of two officers) was established at ] in February 1950. Only one other instrument post was ever set up. La Paz criticized Project Twinkle as inadequate, arguing the green fireballs were worthy of "intensive, systematic investigation". Twinkle did manage to record a few events, but the data collected was reported to be incomplete. Besides, it was stated, no funding had been provided for follow-up data analysis. In addition, the fireball activity near the observation posts seemed to virtually disappear, as noted in a report from September: "It may be considered significant that fireballs have ceased abruptly as soon as a systematic watch was set up." | |||
| Over the objections of La Paz and others, the final report on Project Twinkle concluded the green lights were probably a natural event, maybe sunspot activity or an unusual concentration of meteors, and Project Twinkle was discontinued in December 1951. Despite efforts to downplay the fireballs as natural, a fellow-up report in February 1952 from the USAF Directorate of Intelligence recommended that Project Twinkle remain classified, as no scientific explanation had been found and "some reputable scientists still believe (they) are man-made." There was speculation that they were some kind of spy device. | |||
| ], director of the USAF ] UFO study, stated he visited the ] in early 1952 and spoke to various scientists and technicians there, all of whom had had green fireball sightings. None of them believed they had a conventional explanation, such as a new natural phenomenon, secret government project, or psychologically enlarged meteors. Instead the scientists speculated that they were ] probes "projected into our atmosphere from a ']' hovering several hundred miles above the earth." Ruppelt commented, "Two years ago I would have been amazed to hear a group of reputable scientists make such a startling statement. Now, however, I took it as a matter of course. I'd heard the same type of statement many times before from equally qualified groups." | |||
| Despite the discontinuation of Project Twinkle, green fireball were still occasionally sighted and La Paz would continue to comment. In April 1952, the green fireballs and Project Twinkle were written up in a famous ] article titled "Have We Visitors From Space?" A recent green fireball incident over ] from November 1951 was mentioned. La Paz again repeated why the fireballs couldn't be ordinary meteors. The article also described La Paz's ] sighting near ], New Mexico on July 10, 1947, about the same time as the famous ]. La Paz, however, remained anonymous. Also described was a 1949 UFO sighting by astronomer ], the discoverer of ] . | |||
| In January 1953, La Paz was quoted in newspaper articles saying the green fireballs were artificial devices and might be a Soviet missile scouting the U.S and other parts of the world. According to Ruppelt, the green fireballs reappeared in September 1954. One the size of a full moon was seen streaking southeast across Colorado, lighting up Denver, and into northern N.M. It was seen by thousands at a football stadium in Santa Fe. Dr. LaPaz was called back in to investigate, but told a reporter that he doesn't expect to find anything. From April 3-9, 1955, five green fireballs were reported in New Mexico and two in northern California. At least 3 were reported within minutes of one another mid-morning of April 5. Dr. La Paz stated, "This is a record . . . I'm sure the yellow-green fireballs aren't ordinary meteorite falls. I've been observing the skies since 1914, and I've never seen any meteoric fireballs like them." | |||
| Other astronomers besides La Paz known to have sighted green fireballs in New Mexico during this period were ], who in 1956 said he had seen three, and Dr. ], who sighted one in May 1949 near ]. In a letter to the ], Menzel admitted the phenomena must be real and expressed puzzlement, wondering why the fireballs should be so confined to New Mexico if they were natural phenomena. Ironically, Menzel eventually became a notorious ] ], and in two of his books disingenuously stated he was never puzzled by his sighting, instantly identifying the object as an ordinary meteor fireball. | |||
| Besides La Paz's consultations with the Air Force on the green fireballs, in 1954 he was also involved with astronomer ] in a search for near-Earth orbiting satellites on behalf of the Army. In August 1954, a story broke in the press that Tombaugh and La Paz had found two of the satellites only 400 and 600 miles out that had recently come into orbit. La Paz at first vehemently denied that he was involved, and later denied that anything had been found (see ] for details). At least three witnesses, including two involved with Army and Air Force conterintelligence, also claimed that La Paz was brought in after the ] to interview witnesses and reconstruct the trajectory of the crash object. (]. One counterintelligence agent claimed La Paz told him he thought the object got into trouble, touched down for repairs, took off again and then exploded. The two of them then speculated about possible origins. La Paz allegedly held the opinion that the object was an unoccupied ] probe. | |||
| In 1964, La Paz was also involved peripherally in the investigation of the famous Socorro UFO incident in which a ] policeman named Lonnie Zamora saw a small egg-shape object land, saw two humanoid figues near the object, then when he approached to within 100 feet, the object blasted off and rapidly disappeared. La Paz interviewed Zamora and vouched for him as a witness. | |||
| La Paz's last known comments on the green fireballs occurred in 1964 during a visit by astronomer Dr. ], a consultant to the Air Force's ]. Hynek was also investigating the Socorro incident. According to Hynek, La Paz continued to think the green fireballs were artificial, but now believed the fireballs, and also the Socorro craft, to be secret projects of the U.S. government and complained bitterly that this information had been withheld from him. | |||
| Green fireballs continue to be reported now and then, but their origins remain a mystery. | |||
| ⚫ | ==Sources== | ||
| *Jerome Clark, "Unexplained! 347 Strange Sightings, Incredible Occurrences, and Puzzling Physical Phenomena", Visible Ink Press, 1993. | |||
| ⚫ | *Jerome Clark, |
||
| ⚫ | *Edward J. Ruppelt, |
||
| ⚫ | *Brad Steiger, |
||
| ⚫ | *] | ||
Latest revision as of 22:03, 20 June 2024
Unidentified flying objectsGreen fireballs are a type of unidentified flying object (UFO) that has been reported since the early 1950s. Early sightings primarily occurred in the southwestern United States, particularly in New Mexico. Although some ufologists and ufology organizations consider green fireballs to be of artificial extraterrestrial origin, mainstream explanations have been provided, including natural bolides.
Reports and responses
Early observations of green fireballs date to late 1948 New Mexico, and include reports from two plane crews, one civilian and the other military, on the night of December 5, 1948. These crews described the observed fireballs as a bright "green ball of fire" and "like a huge green meteor". On December 8 another aerial observation of a green fireball was reported by two pilots. In a letter to the U.S. Air Force dated December 20, Lincoln LaPaz, an astronomer from the University of New Mexico, wrote (as reported by the ufologist Kevin Randle) that the observed objects were atypical of meteors. On January 13, 1949, the Director of Army Intelligence from Fourth Army Headquarters in Texas wrote that the green fireballs " the result of radiological warfare experiments by a foreign power" and that they "are of such great importance, especially as they are occurring in the vicinity of sensitive installations, that a scientific board ...study the situation."
A February 1949 conference at Los Alamos attended by members of Project Sign, scientists including Joseph Kaplan and Edward Teller, and military personnel was unable to identify the origin of the observed green fireballs; secret conferences at Los Alamos and elsewhere, later in 1949 and addressing green fireballs, were also claimed by Edward Ruppelt and ufologists including Jerome Clark to have convened. In December 1949 Project Twinkle, a network of green fireball observation and photographic units, was established but never fully implemented. It was discontinued two years later, with the official conclusion that the phenomena were likely natural in origin.
The theoretical astrophysicist and UFO skeptic Donald Menzel claimed to have observed in May 1949 a green fireball near Alamogordo, which he later considered to be an ordinary meteor. Green fireballs have more recently been observed in Japan, Australia, West Virginia and Tennessee.
Explanations
Some ufologists consider green fireballs to be of artificial, extraterrestrial origin. Beyond meteors/bolides, outlier scientific explanations include sequelae of atomic weapons tests, including clouds of nuclear fallout, lunar material ejected from meteor impacts on the Moon's surface, and aircraft associated with secret military projects.
See also
References
- ^ Ruppelt, Edward J. (1956) "Report on Unidentified Flying Objects", DoubleDay
- ^ Carpenter, Joel. "Green Fireball Chronology". Project 1947.
- Randle, Kevin D (2014). The Government UFO Files: The Conspiracy of Cover-Up. Visible Ink Press. p. 109. ISBN 9781578594986.
- ^ Clark, Jerome (1956) "The UFO Book: Encyclopedia of the Extraterrestrial", Visible Ink Press
- "DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES AIR FORCE WASHINGTON". Project 1947. March 1949.
- E. Gross, Loren (1982). "UFOs: A HISTORY January - June 1949" (PDF). Center for UFO Studies. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-02-14. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
- Menzel letter, May 16, 1949, cited at an Air Force Scientific Advisory Board meeting on the green fireballs in Washington, D.C., Nov. 3, 1949. The quoted section read, "Circumstances force me to conclude that the phenomena described are actually real. With regard to Dr. Kaplan's explanation, which deserves very serious consideration, I merely raise the question as to why the phenomenon seems to be confined to the Alamogordo region."
- For example, in contrast to his 1949 private statement to the Air Force that he didn't find the meteor explanation totally adequate, Menzel later wrote in his UFO debunking book "The UFO Enigma" (1977) with Ernest Tavres that, "He and several other astronomers present observed the bright green object as it slowly traversed the northern sector of the heavens, moving from east to west: they quickly and unequivocally identified it as a meteor, or bolide..."
- "Mysterious green light 'fireball' spotted in Japan sky". The Telegraph. November 2, 2016.
- "Flashy Fireball Lights Up Sky Above West Virginia And Tennessee". space.com. August 2, 2023.
- "Fireball that lit up Pilbara sky 'something special', but scientists not exactly sure what". ABC News. June 15, 2020.
- "Ominous Green Fireball Lights Up Skies Over Australian Outback". Gizmodo. June 15, 2020.
- Steiger, Brad (1987-05-12). Project Blue Book. Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0345345257.
Sources
- Jerome Clark, The UFO Book: Encyclopedia of the Extraterrestrial, Visible Ink Press, 1998.
- Edward J. Ruppelt, The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects, 1956, Chapt. 4
- Brad Steiger, Project Blue Book, Ballantine Books, 1976
External links
- Transcript of 1949 Los Alamos conference on green fireballs
- Project Twinkle final report
- Links to other green fireball documents
- Another article on green fireballs and Project Twinkle
- NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: Photo of a meteor with a greenish tint in tail (20 November 1998)
- Skeptical witness of a green fireball
