Project 10073 Records and Correspondence — Los Alamos, New Mexico, December 1950

This document contains a collection of records and correspondence from the United States Air Force 17th District Office of Special Investigations regarding aerial phenomena observed in the vicinity of Los Alamos, New Mexico, in December 1950. The primary content consists of two 'Project 10073' record forms detailing sightings reported by civilians. The first incident occurred on 21 December 1950, where a witness described a round, brilliant green object with a short tail of flame moving at a very fast speed at a 65-70 degree angle. The object appeared to sputter and emit red sparks before abruptly vanishing. The second incident occurred on 28 December 1950, involving a round, bluish-green object with a glowing tail, estimated to be traveling above 1000 mph. Both reports were officially evaluated as 'ASTRO (METEOR)'. The document also includes a summary of sightings from January and February 1951, listing various reports from across the United States and abroad, with evaluations ranging from 'Balloon' and 'A/C' to 'Insufficient Data' and 'Other'. A separate information-only note mentions sightings over the Soviet-Iranian border, also evaluated as a probable meteor. The correspondence from Major Richard G. Cox to the Director of Special Investigations notes that while the phenomena were not believed to fall definitively within the criteria for reporting, they were forwarded due to the sensitive nature of the Los Alamos location as an Atomic Energy site.