Documents / Document

Los Alamos Conference on Aerial Phenomena, 1949 (DOE-UAP-D004)

Department of War, PURSUE Release 04 · 2026-07-10 · 25 pages · text from the file's own layer

This file is a US Atomic Energy Commission transcript of a secret conference on aerial phenomena held at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory on 16 February 1949. A cover letter from the AEC Santa Fe office dated 22 March 1949 accompanies it. Dr. Lincoln LaPaz describes the New Mexico green fireballs, including the Starvation Peak sighting of 12 December 1948 and the 30 January 1949 fall over Texas. He argues they were not conventional meteorites. Edward Teller, Norris Bradbury and others discuss the missing sound and the long horizontal paths but reach no conclusion.

~ - ,~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: Major Winn
Major Oodsoe
C~ptain Reef
l!anima,naer Mo.lldelkorn
t1n1versity ot XevMenco: La.Paa~-
!'BI: Mr.Maxlrell.
USAEC, 81"00: Mr. Morgan
Mr. Bevburger
University ot California: 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 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.
Dr. La.Paz: I would like to ·rev1ev ubat is observed in the ca.ee ot a. conven
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 bac~ 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 .....
All1fladlJ HM R 5 8 2J8 •
BJ '.}Jl.1f · r fCARA, 8atf fp/3/ ~ fj(,

About this file

Document, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 25 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.