Project 10073 Record Card — Finland, March 1960

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and an accompanying memorandum from the Office of the Air Attache in Finland, dated 20 June 1960. The record card summarizes sightings reported in Oulunsalo, Finland, between 19 and 21 March 1960. The brief summary notes that the original reports were not in the file, but the case was obtained via correspondence with the Air Attache of Finland. The official conclusion reached by the evaluating agency, the Aerospace Technical Intelligence Center, is that the objects were likely meteors. The memorandum provides further context, distinguishing between the sightings on 19-21 March 1960, which are attributed to 'fireballs,' and sightings on 26-27 March 1960, for which the cause could not be determined. The document defines a fireball as a meteor of -3 magnitude or brighter, capable of casting shadows. It describes various characteristics of such meteors, including their potential for multi-colored trails, irregular paths, and associated sounds like 'fluttering or whirring.' It also notes that these meteors may explode at the end of their trajectory and leave behind a cloud of smoke. The memorandum concludes by stating that the information provided is of value to the Aerospace Technical Intelligence Center as it offers potential supplementary data for satellite tracking and contributes to the broader collection of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena data. The document emphasizes that the available information is very limited, which precludes reaching positive conclusions for all reported events.