DOE-UAP-D004_Los-Alamos-Conference-on-Aerial-Phenomena_1949

U NIT ED S TATES • L., A TOMIC ENE RG Y C OMM I SSIO N LOS ALAMOS, NEW MEXICO ADDRESS REPLY TO : 11ANAGER, SANTA FE DIRECTED OPERATIONS IJ, S. A TOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION P. 0. BOX 1539 LOS ALAMOS, NEW M EXICO ANO REF ER TO: SFD- 3- 1 i.:a.r ch 22 , 1949 Authority: NND 58378 Lt . Cndr . Riche.r d :..o.;:1do ll:or n M'S',."? !Ieo.dqv.o.r tero Sn.:.1dia Bo.se Llb uquer quo , Ect, Lc::i co Doe..r Cmdr . : )1.~ell:or n : Furnished herevr'.th is o. Jcro..rncriyt of t:1e r:iinutos of t:10 co~u'erencc :1old o.t Lo:. Alll'D.03 ?eb r uo.rJ 16 , 1949 , per to.bi:ir; to c.cr ial ph0nono1ul.. 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CQO('IMlS HO OCEcv.se,hEO iwo"' 4.CO::~Tev..nt ~ , c o S CUS$fllll>•-,OlftA<><nEO OITIIEll<Sl'fCIF'r): mu ,...... ___ ___ ..._ _ 11When SGp"'rut d document as _____ ...:...-----,--- handle this II ~ COE'BREliCE On AERIAL PHENOMENA - ,~ Held a.t 1300, 16 February 1949, 1n conference room P-162, Los Alamos Scientific La.boi."'atory, Lo& Alamoa, Bew Mezico. Present: 4th Any: t1n1versity ot XevMenco: !'BI: USAEC, 81"00: University ot California: Major Winn Major Oodsoe C~ Los Alamos Scientific La.boi."'atory, Lo& Alamoa, Bew Mezico. Present: 4th Any: t1n1versity ot XevMenco: !'BI: USAEC, 81"00: University ot California: Major Winn Major Oodsoe C~ptain Reef l!anima,naer Mo.lldelkorn ~- La.Paa Mr.Maxlrell. Mr. Morgan Mr. Bevburger Dr. Bradbury D.r. Holloway­ Mr. Hoyt Dr. Me.nl.ey Dr. Reines Dr. Teller 1-1r. Ilelfburger opened the contereD.Ce and s~ted that the subJect ot Aerial Phenomena was olassifie4 Secret 11'1tbia the mean111g of AR 380•5 mld canparable appropriate regulations o~ the Navy and A11: J'orce~, and tba.t oil penonnel at this meeti?Jg vere properfy cleared. Mr. !l&wburger th<m 1nt1'0dueed Captain Beef, who briaf'ly outlined the purpoe" of tbia meet;ing. Captain Beet: It aU start d back 1n DecGmber, 1948, when w first received 8Ql1i.e reports from same airline pilats tha.t these 6NCJ1. :firebe.lls vere sisb.ted. At this s~e v~ bad no idea what to do with it or vhat it ,ran. We e.pprooobf:d Dr. LaPaz 'Who has been aqsisting us, gratis, since tbat date. Almost over two " months now that he hao been assisting us, oo in order to have you it or vhat it ,ran. We e.pprooobf:d Dr. LaPaz 'Who has been aqsisting us, gratis, since tbat date. Almost over two " months now that he hao been assisting us, oo in order to have you get the tacts _·' as they ue to a sc1en-tiet, I'll let Dr. IaPaz q:plain these tbings as we have ~ :found t.hem. Then you ~ give ua your opinion trom. theft; that 18 what we are interosted in. '" I would like to ·rev1ev ubat is observed in the ca.ee ot a. conven­ Dr. La.Paz: tiol'l&l. meteorite fall. Rot that I bave e.n7 )lopes of saying anytb1113 10u don't a,l.ready kncnf, but because I regard the observational ev14ence observed by tm, conventional meteorite falls as providine tbp necessary ba c~ for tlhat is ?1,0t,J ob3erved. Meteorite falls (tor next minute or two, Dr. L&Paz'a cet!Jments on recoi-d drowned out by noise trcm ditell digger immediately outeide conference roQm) • • • • • • • Bece.uae of eou:nd phenomena ~ , the hll ot a large me·lreor1te wiU cQWJe great frisht among button beings neceasar1.1.y but primari~ among animals, o~ all kind~. 'Ihe tact toll~, by- a meteorite falling into the • DECLASSIFIED ..... • · r fCARA, 8atf fp/3 great frisht among button beings neceasar1.1.y but primari~ among animals, o~ all kind~. 'Ihe tact toll~, by- a meteorite falling into the • DECLASSIFIED ..... • · r fCARA, 8atf fp/3/ ~ All1fladlJ HM R 5 8 2J8 BJ '.}Jl.1f fj(, , , ' Conference on AERIAL PHENOMENA Page 2 I.f I choose to describe ·Ghe only one of the incidents that I vas I'd like to contrast 11o·n-, at this time, thia fact with what has been earth, ts as you would elt!)ect, one at rend.ool - in azimuth and elevation. the rad.laat t7hite is knovn., yor: can preciict the minimum angle with respect to the plane of the horizon nt which the m.eteoi-i•ce path has been observed. There is no choice, e.s f'a.r as the ..... for direction wen rceteorites fe.11 in at ranc1om. observed by some indivi.duals here at the co.:?lf'erence and by r.::aey of the AESS inspectorll, UAL pilota, special a.gents, goodness knows how many other categories of people. pereonally o. wi:~nesa to. It io the only one of the incidents that I am in a nooiticn to vouch fo~ on the basis of experience, dating from 1915, as a member of the Am~rican !>1etaor :~nesa to. It io the only one of the incidents that I am in a nooiticn to vouch fo~ on the basis of experience, dating from 1915, as a member of the Am~rican !>1etaor Society; w-as most certainly not a. conventioll81 meteorite fall. It -was the so-called St:U.--vation Peak incident on the night of December 1.2, 19116. rir0·oa11 nppeared in full intenoity instantly • there was no increase in light. Its color,, estimated to be somewhere arotmd wave length 5200 engstroma, .ms a. hue green, or yello-11 green, such ae I had never observed in meteor falls before. The path ua.e a& I!.etlrly horizontal as one could determine by visual observation. We have ~ pho·togra:1>h which might be some li--;; ra ot departure from horizontal.. The trajectory was traverse at, I am inclined to believe, constant angular velocity. Just befor0 the end of the pat;h ·there we.a the very 811gb.test drooping of the path, that io the green fireball broke into fragments, still bright green. 'l'iue of observation around 9;02 P.M., plus or minus 30 seconds. This Dr. Teller: And all this time the intensity uas approxiJDately constant? Dr. !.a.Paz:: All -the time, as fa'.!." ae I cou.ld determine. The eye, of course, is e.dmitted.l.~r a Teller: And all this time the intensity uas approxiJDately constant? Dr. !.a.Paz:: All -the time, as fa'.!." ae I cou.ld determine. The eye, of course, is e.dmitted.l.~r a very crude phcrcographer. Dr. Teller: Rov long did the phenomenon last1 Dr. 1-.'i.Paz~ Almost exactly two i:;econds. We have in the reports here, I brought the com:plt::te file nth ma and uould be glad. to circulate them, duration measures in 1•ela.tion. to all observations. Fev of -these, h~rever, I believe, were deter.Jlinoo under as favorable circumstancea as the duration of the Starvation Peak incident. Possibly I should go back and review the situation a little bit. Because oom~ report, iaau.ed by the AESS, uoul.d certain]Jr suggest that I was prinillrily responsible for starting this whole matter I am glad that Captain Reel' corrected that impression. Actually:- I YaS on an investigation in regard to -'che green fireball. observed on tho night of December 5th at the time the Dece111ber 12th incident occurretl. As a :result I was keyed up; I was 'WBtehing; I h'.1.cl a stop vatch with me and a transit. We got into position and made measures, transit :ciee,suros, on azimuths and elevation readings; that is, we ma.de a dm.·a:cion check, certainly within not more ; I h'.1.cl a stop vatch with me and a transit. We got into position and made measures, transit :ciee,suros, on azimuths and elevation readings; that is, we ma.de a dm.·a:cion check, certainly within not more than tvo or three minutes sftor the incident occurred. To that extent, I believe, it is posaibly' the best observed ot any incident up to tha time of the January 30th fall. Dr. Manl~r: Hem did you have time to use ·t;b.e tranait? Dr. La.Po.~: The transit was in the back of ·the car. The mament the car was parked a:c the aide of th2 road, we yanked. the transit out and set 1t u,p and , Conference on AEBJ.AL PHENOMENA • Page 3 began meauurement.s. We were i r. motion at the time but ,re ve1•e able to ge·t; a very good check of 'Uhat w obsc!'Ved at the time on the road near Starvation Peak. Ue had a cJ.ea.r view of the sky to the Northwest om the WeBt, and the object wan so low over the horlzon it was possible to compare 1t not o:nly to the ste.:r•a irith which I am f'am1J.iar, but with 1--espect to Il¥)untain peaks -~t were also visible. To continue, that duration vas a.bout two second.Q. one of tho puzzling ~ s to the .:r•a irith which I am f'am1J.iar, but with 1--espect to Il¥)untain peaks -~t were also visible. To continue, that duration vas a.bout two second.Q. one of tho puzzling ~ s to the meteorists. I believe I do not exaggerate -.:hen I say tila:'c ':}(:ffa of the d~tion detcrmi:nations that have bclen made 1n the case of the green f'il."'eballs have given durations right in that vicinity. Whel'ees you -take, sa.y, 100 ord:luarymeteor observations you will :tind the ·widest diversions in durations. You could take tbe same leason a.a observed by 100 people - possibly that 0z a better example .. and there would be wide va.rietionn in the estimates of dm-ation. 'l'his is Dr. MaDl.e~r: Did you correlate the ardmu.tha vith ..•.. '? Dr. LaPe.z : No. T'.iJ.ere ie an azimuth factor here which I am goiDg to talk to you about, that relates to the choice of clirection. Both our observations are single station observations, no that it beeomes impossible ~am the observe.• tion mec.aure to deter.nine the x·eal path of the fireball in the atmosphere. There have been only 'three caeea vhere the.t path was determinable. one, as I rece.ll it.:- 'W'aS tbat of Dacembez- 12, a.ncrcher December 20, and f'1nally, the atmosphere. There have been only 'three caeea vhere the.t path was determinable. one, as I rece.ll it.:- 'W'aS tbat of Dacembez- 12, a.ncrcher December 20, and f'1nally, of course, the very :.nrge fall 0,.1 January 30, 1949. Pll give you some particulars on the I do wrm:c to observe, however, that even our station observations path3. present a puzzling eharacteris·,ic to the meteorista. I f you plot what are called, by meteorists, the admiosible protozons for a gi'een fireball tbat has been obse11Ved, you vill find thut they give, on the average, an approach al:most to the North, come dOffll. from the North, they are not restricted to 'l whe.t about. -I.he real patbo? I e;ave sane indications e.s to the altitude at which m.eteoriteo normally disrupt full . . . . . and cme d0m1. That relates to the loi-rest . . . . . o~ path. The green fireballs are unusual in this respect: probably that they a.re horizontal or nearly so, or that their horizontal path is traverced very lcn1 down in the otmosphere. f'or wicl'l vre have be - able to make determinations so ~e;r, those are sra,phical determinations, as ve have not taken the trouble to use Chablis (t) method& or . . . . . bec~use the observstions a have be - able to make determinations so ~e;r, those are sra,phical determinations, as ve have not taken the trouble to use Chablis (t) method& or . . . . . bec~use the observstions a.re regarded aa necessarily too rough for In the ce.se of the real paths Bow • • ema.tical niceties. Those paths are ·traversed at elevations between 8 and I defy you to find anywhere amoDg meteorists, examples of conven­ 10 d.lee. tional. meteorites that move over long horizontal. pa.tbs reserving nearly constant angular velocities a.nd t.herefo1·e, on the average, con.st.ant linear velocities, at elevat iomi of the order o-r 8 to 10 miles. There is a good deal of evidence that may be of value in the complete reports that a.re available hore, but since this is sn introduction, I wuld like to summarize at. this stage: I personoJ.1y vitnesaed on the night of December 12, 1948, ws not, in my opinion, e. conventional. meteor :fall. S1!1Ce the majority of the green fireballs nave been reported to me, both before and. a:fter this December 12th occurrence., poeeess elnost all the propertielil vbich I persOllally observed on the night of December 12th, I feel that 1n all probabillty they are not themselves conven­ tional met,eol~ falls. Now, the easy wy out of this is -to coajure u;p an un•. conventional. ally observed on the night of December 12th, I feel that 1n all probabillty they are not themselves conven­ tional met,eol~ falls. Now, the easy wy out of this is -to coajure u;p an un•. conventional. type of . . . . . metcorite, vhioh comes in practically parallel to the the fireball which • Conference on AEICAL PHENOMENA Page 4 surface of the e~~h and is aa.:i.ehol{ eadowcd vith tbe property against the very grea"i:, atmor.pher1c reointance tlmt is experienced. on a level, it reserves neerly eons-t-..e.n.t ve1lccity over paths say of th.e order of 25 to over 100 miles, as in the case oi' the greeu fireball en January 30th. It should also bave the property that i t is a very remerkable h·t1e of green, not heretofore observed, to my knowledge, in "i:.ho case of a:ey- conveutional meteor falls. And finally, and this pcseibly Ls the moa·I; i.1;1plausible :t"ea.ture of c.ll, that although 1t produce:, l:i.ght vi:;i".)lc at distances of the o:rder o-f 1!00 miles, i t doeSI1't make e.. sound. J.:n the case of che Jru.?.uary 30th fell, due to the fact that there had been o. lcre;e mmibcr of milltc1-"7 :persoxmi i t doeSI1't make e.. sound. J.:n the case of che Jru.?.uary 30th fell, due to the fact that there had been o. lcre;e mmibcr of milltc1-"7 :persoxmi:?l alerted, ve wre able to obtain obeervat:i.ona vith".n a minute af'\,je? the fall occurred end pursued the investiga­ tion over E'. d.i.atsncc of 1,600 miles - in Texas mud. prim2r1ly! - in some ten days• ti!lle inte..'1"V'ie'lf'lng literaJ.J.y hundreds oz people, ,,e saw not one substan.. tio.ted accc,unt ot no:l.ee produced by the meteorite fall. Dr. Teller:· V.ay I a.ok how many people have seen this one big meteorite? lie •:;rlod a :f'amily o'f 8 the first night, as Majo:z- Godsoe will Dr. laPaz: T'ABt .:a difficult to say. (r~cord blank for abort perl,od) •••••••• FinaUy, ir: the illten-ogation of such persons, w invariably interview them ae individuaJ.t1. recall.• :i.n·· erviev-lng ..•.. and :tt became apparent at once that there vas same i;ympe:chetiu influence o.nd we broke j_t off after I think the th:trd or fourth oboervatiOI~ c.:nd thereafter inte:.'.'Vie,red separately. Ii' you were to search, howe at once that there vas same i;ympe:chetiu influence o.nd we broke j_t off after I think the th:trd or fourth oboervatiOI~ c.:nd thereafter inte:.'.'Vie,red separately. Ii' you were to search, howe"ter, the inde::9endent observations of those who were v.tdely separated, !'.)ossibly stations o! the order of 100, ·there lrere probe.bl.y 100 ditterent staticna Teporting. D1·. Teller: What area did that cover? Dr. taPa8: All o::' New.Mexico, ell the Western half of Texas. here mth ume indic:itions of possibly the extent of that. I have a map Hoyt and B:•adbury: Wasn°t that Sunday the 2l~th? Dr. L~az: Ro, 1-t was definitely Sunday tha 30th. The nevspapers have very hrlrfull.Y conceelccl mst of the r~levan'G facts relating to tb.is f'ireball. First., they described it as a firebaJ.l., second, ·they .••• (record blank tor f'ev seconds). interi'eri·ec. m.th OSI and mum~t a.ble to do that this time. Thie is the f'ield map and ,rll.l give 111 various eolore, dots and pencil <iashs, etc. all of the obsei-vationa obta~ned on the T~a.s search. Dr. Tellel": All ~:elate to one i'a.1.1? Dr. 111 various eolore, dots and pencil <iashs, etc. all of the obsei-vationa obta~ned on the T~a.s search. Dr. Tellel": All ~:elate to one i'a.1.1? Dr. 1'..a.Paz: Yee. T'aese lines a.re drat.'D. from points o:f observation. The center, cs you see. of i,o:·nts of e.ppearerce is SO"Jlevhere Southwest of Amarillo or South­ oouthveai of Amarillo. The disappe~.re.nce point is in the vicinity of Lubbock, Texas. At the time this Ul18 dr...wn, before I 1-ra.s able to make out t?'aalSit meaoures 111 ·i;b.e v:l.cinity of Alb\:.querque, this ,re.o the beet apparent path of tho ?ircioo.llc. These other illk lines are independent, made by other groups ot ( record blenlt again for short time) • obsej,""Vero i:rorking on the Scmle p:. oble:m. Thi:; transtt, Uilfortunately, had. s. needle with a ben·c p1et-..on and it was Mt • Conference on AERIAL PBEI.JOMEHA Page 5 discovered until m,.ch 1e;~er tha-c ve uere getting faulty z-ecords. Independently, I b£.ve re~deten:.ined, using the best equip:nent available at tho University, the lines of sight a.t all po:~ta where the faulty t.rans1t had been used. ve uere getting faulty z-ecords. Independently, I b£.ve re~deten:.ined, using the best equip:nent available at tho University, the lines of sight a.t all po:~ta where the faulty t.rans1t had been used. I have plotted on this map only obser. at:l.on.s that I made pG>.-son.9.l.ly or such obuerva­ tions as I have c-,1cry reason to believe ,,rere Jnade by experienced personnel, for exam.ple UAL flyers, who took tll~ trouble to make measures, or possib~ civil engj.neel'G. Dr. Teller: You mean theae people right afterwards or shortly a.f'term,.rds took an i11st1'Ull:en:c e.tit. tried ·:;o meavure it? Dr. u.Pa.z: '.!..'hat a right. Dr. Teller: Thie is the po:Lnt where 1t disappeared? Dr. LaPa.z: And r.01-me.J.l..y', all you td.ll get is the point where it disappears, becauae t.te ave1•£1gc man is ali'ar~ ot the fa.ct that when he i i , not w.rned, he mak~s e. very im.t:curate observation. Having been uai-ned by- the appearance 0: the fireball, hio attent:J.on is fixed and he wtches where it bursts, where it explodes, where :it disappears. So I say thia is a much better det.o:m:Snaticm.. This begirning point, al-though 0: the fireball, hio attent:J.on is fixed and he wtches where it bursts, where it explodes, where :it disappears. So I say thia is a much better det.o:m:Snaticm.. This begirning point, al-though you notice the .•.. of line here, is reasonably sa.tisfactcry. Dr. Te.lle1·: Are these points here observers of the teat, locations of those obs~rvatic:118? • i"G is blacked out, both light and aound vere Dr. LaPaz: Usua.Uy e. dotted c::rcle like tb&t illd1ca.tes a. reported sound obSe't'"• vation. f'e use this symbol: n c11·cle is a report, whether or not the observation includ.es azimuth o:? elevation, light appearances, is indicated ,,....,,. the preser.ce of a. cross. U heard. nu, ever;/ one o~ those thiI!go baa been disproved. In the area vb.ere the end poin.t w.u located, oil well drilling was underuay, dynamite blasting in connection 'f7ith ae'c·ting up of i-igs, same nitro beill,g used apparently to In ave17 case ,re .rere able to e%Cl.ude the posaibil.1ty that the ehe:tter . . . . . noioea :reported 00-tu.s..Uy 't1ere ·ded 1n vith the meteorite fal1. At least let me say, 1It my op:;.n:Lon, those noisee vere excluded. In certain cases, 1nde . . . noioea :reported 00-tu.s..Uy 't1ere ·ded 1n vith the meteorite fal1. At least let me say, 1It my op:;.n:Lon, those noisee vere excluded. In certain cases, 1nde:pe.ndet:.tly, ths.:~ ws conf'ir~ed by a visit of Lt. Rym:l. of the Roswell group of -the om:. For instance, the best case of all, near Amherst ? , or noise - the obeer\-er, i t ea true, was only a ten-year old boy, but be wrote a very intelligent letwr, and 1t is 1:-ell lmO"W tbat children, like en1maJ e, are more seru:;itive to sound than people v.bo have listened for too many years, say, to the xa.dio. It appeared eonceiva.blo that he had actually made a soUDd observa­ tion, but Lt. Ryan uent to Amhent ?, found that even three members of the family "i!ere not able to confirm his observation of noise cmd. no oue 1n the town, aome 300 o:r 4oo persons I think in all vere eetimated to have been visited, l'.O one o.t all had hem,! a sound, so I think that Mike probably hen.rd the samll! c~tc blaat as had been reported by Miss Winoon Didpasture .. I diful't tal.e that name out of the tunny papers, it actually exists. ( continual e~nation of the maps mth minor interrogations concern probably hen.rd the samll! c~tc blaat as had been reported by Miss Winoon Didpasture .. I diful't tal.e that name out of the tunny papers, it actually exists. ( continual e~nation of the maps mth minor interrogations concern1.Dg markings.) • Con:rerence on AERIAL PIDmO:mNA. Page 6 Dr. Le.Paz: W!th 0&"1e exception, in the ca.a,.., of' Roswell, there e.re two types of cound aasoci&ted 11ith meteorite fu.lls end, I acsume, associated vi.th the motion of any very high velocity projectile or missile through tbe air. T°J'.lere sre vb.at ~rc1c1ats wuld cul reczoneble oounda, end while he would not acknm,lede;e i J.;, s1multaneouoly with ~.;he c.ppaarcnce or a meteor1te, you hear c. meteorite, yhc physicist ,;rill refuse to believe the observation. revert.Jwleas, there i.a a tremendous volume of evidenc m~maloU3 sc'\lllds oc:cu:..-red. Anyone who cioes field work 1n the search for zaeteo:rites 'tr.Lil c0:.1e acroso possibly 'JUI, oi' the observers who say that, although my a"i.tention ~ attracted by hn-..ari.Il8, a miining noise, e vhistling noioc: I looked up and ·Ghere ,mo the fir~bal.l. 1?:ound a.ppe.rently attracts attention to who say that, although my a"i.tention ~ attracted by hn-..ari.Il8, a miining noise, e vhistling noioc: I looked up and ·Ghere ,mo the fir~bal.l. 1?:ound a.ppe.rently attracts attention to the occurrence. Brandon . . • . . one of ·Ghe flO!I.S of the man w~ first investigated the great creter out :,.n Ar1Zon3, and. s chap by the name or Bart ? vith 1r"ho:n I am not perao:aally ccgy.z.dnted but a :p~~icist ap_parontly at Princeton, 1n which they etteJeyt ·w ~ uotify t.b.e occurrence of ano:m.1.ous sound. They express 1 t roughly in th:f.a fe:aion. Elcctro.I!t3gnctic radiation is net up by In o:ther words, this ana:nalnus indicating that these I bnve an article by (Dr. Teller excused. to anawer the phone.) t::e In every other :meteorite f'all, any one meteorite :tall that e;ro,.ql of five men • there uerc nea.r a. stee1 '1!ll0kestack • ond tSVfi1rY Dr. L3.Pllz: You wouldn't believe it anylray! Ho~r, •.••• electromagii.etic ra.d.iction iu rectified somehow by the . • . • . changed into sound tbat can be heard and, •aieref'ore, you cu. he:u- the reetcorite at the seme time you ece it fell agii.etic ra.d.iction iu rectified somehow by the . • . • . changed into sound tbat can be heard and, •aieref'ore, you cu. he:u- the reetcorite at the seme time you ece it fell. In the case of the Roswell observation apparently that occurred. have le.ct one of them m;e1.""'0 that they heard at the same time they were va.tchillS the green f:.reball eo by, c. noise like, se.y., o eaeoline blOV"torch. 'lb:lt ie ccrtoinly not an ordinary explosives cound. One :core thing in connection m:'Gb the noirnea. I ho.vc inventigated, - that cove1·0 ms.ey yea.rs .. I have ver yet found sn occasion of n detonating fireball., vithout meteorites caning dovn at all, :!.:!'l '!rh.ich ·chore vao not sam.e evidence of ala..""l!l of an1rnal s. Chickmls will fly e:-oun.il to tcy to uet under cover. DogG vill howl o.nd try to get into the In the ca6~ of the TCJm.s fall., in epite or the houGe. tranend.oun a.reg:. in llbich the llght 1,-as obcerved., we found not a a1ngl.e caoe in which ·c.ho w1rool6 vere disturbed. We lm2w;,t the cdtie of a farmer who hwl, in mmny Te.me, a pond vi.the f'ive-inch layer of ice, tmo reported that e a1ngl.e caoe in which ·c.ho w1rool6 vere disturbed. We lm2w;,t the cdtie of a farmer who hwl, in mmny Te.me, a pond vi.the f'ive-inch layer of ice, tmo reported that e. ~~teorite had foll.en through the ice on tbat pond, had broken a hole. Captain Neef here pu-'c on o. pair of rubber booto l.1lld very thoroushly searched the pom wi-'Gho it finding n meteorite. Even 1u that oaoo there vae no evidence of alarm by ~h~ e.n1nm,Jo. and have yo1 o.sk quetrl;icma. liorsea vill run o.vay. I bel.ievc vith tlmt aummary, I'd better cease operations Q-u.estion: llou ?mny obnerved fall.6? Dr. L9.Paz: I'd like to clasaify thooo into three groups. there ere ten instances that definitely merit the moat eerioue conaidere.tion. They are strictly e.mlogous to the green fireballs of the night of December 12. On top of that, there muat be sauething of the order of tmmtymore which ere I ·would 88-,Y that • Conference on AERIAL PHENOMENA Page 7 the na.ture of the fireball • • • • many so ·irell rapo:..'ted, from Los Alaoos for example, tha.t although the green fire­ bsllu observed ohoved small . • . • obs~rva"iiions ot ob3ervers· lrho paid prectically no attention to the • • • many so ·irell rapo:..'ted, from Los Alaoos for example, tha.t although the green fire­ bsllu observed ohoved small . • . • obs~rva"iiions ot ob3ervers· lrho paid prectically no attention to the sky at P.ny other time in their lives and now vhen they see a really bright light, they report it. You will find a great; na.ny instances of bluish-white tire• balls. In my op:!.nion, thoi.;e fa.lJ.iug vertical.ly and leaving trails, are c:iro:ply ordinary shooting stars. Of high intensity, that is, what we call fircbal.l.s, a blue light, 8.1.'e not in ezr:, sense to be associated with the green lights. Those th...-ee categories ·chen. Dr. Mmley: ? In the ce,se of the tuo green fireball paths, determined from Los Dr. La.Paz: Ala::no:s obse:r-·tations, in one caae the Ste.rvation Peak incident, we have an Ea.st-Wet3t :modon, and then also a motion exactly parallel to ••••• In other 'lfOI"d.B, ·these two real pe.tho Bho-vr, I think they are the only two ·or the first category that show any real dei.>artui e tram the • • • • • It is possible to explain t!l.S.t. It is qui.te evident that ue have no case ot assurance tb.s.t bot!.l gt-o~is of ob£ervcrs, the show any real dei.>artui e tram the • • • • • It is possible to explain t!l.S.t. It is qui.te evident that ue have no case ot assurance tb.s.t bot!.l gt-o~is of ob£ervcrs, the observe1·s at.Starvation Peak and the observers at Los Alamos, s11"t-·· the oame point of ..... so that if' we were to merely ask ·lfba.t are the linite Within which ouch real paths might fall., it t'l.1l'lU3 out tha:t it migb.i; be eo short ae 12 miles instead of bei:ng 25 miles long, and in ths.t case i .,.; woulo. be directed almost directly to the North; it vould come doun veey ncs.rly .,"i·thin 2 degrees, 5 ~et;rees say, of the North,. In the case of the 'l'exao obE:Cl'\ratioI\.8, whe:::-eao I hav-e ind.icated and the maps show, we ha;rn Jl'.I.BJ.lY obaervut.tons by tra:1.ned observers, motion :J.o clearly almost directly I have been