Report of Investigation: Unknown (Aerial Phenomena) - 4 Jan 49

This report of investigation, dated January 4, 1949, and authored by Special Agent Jack L. Boling of the Office of Special Investigations, compiles various sightings of aerial phenomena, specifically 'fireballs,' reported in Arizona, Oregon, and New Mexico between October and December 1948. The document serves as a central repository for multiple witness accounts and technical evaluations provided by Dr. Lincoln La Paz of the University of New Mexico's Institute of Meteoritics. The report details several specific incidents, including a sighting in Phoenix on October 24, 1948, where a witness described a green fireball moving slowly across the sky over 75 minutes. Another significant incident occurred on December 11, 1948, in Hood River, Oregon, involving a brilliant blue-white flash of light accompanied by a loud noise, which witnesses compared to a flare or a searchlight rather than lightning. The report also includes detailed accounts from Los Alamos, New Mexico, where inspectors observed a falling light on December 20, 1948. These observers described an intense blue-white light with a faint trail, which appeared to be under control rather than a natural falling object. A final incident on December 28, 1948, near Las Cruces, New Mexico, involved a white light descending in a vertical path, which disappeared with a greenish flash. The document emphasizes the technical analysis provided by Dr. La Paz, who worked to calculate the 'real path' of these objects through the atmosphere. La Paz concluded that the objects observed on December 20, 1948, were not falling meteorites, citing their trajectory and speed. The report also notes that investigators conducted inquiries in various New Mexico towns to determine if other sightings had occurred, but found no additional reports. The document includes several enclosures, such as letters from witnesses and internal office memoranda, which provide the raw data for the investigation. The overall tone of the report is one of systematic, objective inquiry, focusing on gathering precise observational data to distinguish these anomalous phenomena from known natural occurrences like meteorites.