Light Phenomena East of Tashkent

This Central Intelligence Agency information report, dated February 11, 1952, details recurring light phenomena observed near Tashkent, Uzbek S.S.R., between May and September 1950. The report is based on the reinterrogation of an informant regarding events witnessed from the F7 camp in Pakhta. According to the report, three light phenomena were observed at approximately 15-minute intervals nearly every night at 10 p.m. local time. The witnesses described a ball of fire that, after six seconds, reached the apex of a long trajectory. The object initially appeared bright red at the apex, then shifted in color from pale green to white. It left a trail of fire, though no noise or detonations were reported. The trajectory was estimated to span 60 to 80 kilometers, running from the southwest to the northeast, with an altitude estimated between 5,000 and 12,000 meters. At its apex, the object was perceived to be one-fifth the diameter of the full moon. An annex to the report provides a sketch illustrating the trajectory, the point of extinction, and the culmination point. A field comment included in the document cautions that the trajectory measurements should be treated with reserve, noting that neither the discharge nor the noise of the projectile were heard by the observers.