◆ SpookStack

Incident: 227 Dr La Paz's attention wes direction area about 15° weet of E-Oygni youn by indirect vision he become aware of a very bright green ball (apparent angular diameter 5') to the right of the ares in his center field of view which was moving from east to west very low on the horison. Shouting “Look” to his companions vg eA L, Phillips, AP<CAP Liaien Officer, Kirtland Fid., Lt Allem Clerk, Intel cer, B. Mex. Wing CAP, and Inspectors Jeffers and A2C Security Service (Los Alamos, B. M.) who them timed duration of 1 wuie® ranged from 2.1 seconis to 2.3 sec. The path of the green ball was aluost exactly horizontal (altitude estimated as only 3 or || degrees) until just a tenti of a second or so before it disappe.red. During the last one or two tenths of « vecond of it» visi- bility a slight but definite curvature downeerd developed in its peth. From the very begimming the ball was very bright. Immediate comparison with Serius (at a wach greater altitude than the green fireball) indicates that during all but the last ome or two tenths of a second of the fireball's Wisibility it was at leact of apparent magnitude ~\ (mims four). Just as curvature in ite path developed, tne magnituie of the fireball rose clightly and it broke up into tHree or four fmaller but sti‘l bright green fragments wiich di ered almost instantly. Although Lt Clark stopped the car the moment fireball disappenred and the eccupamts then stood outside the oar and listened for meteoritic detonations or rumbl inge, nothing was beard. Two uight guards at los Alamos had also witnessed the phenomena simultaneously. The green fireball of December 12th, eppeared very near a point with the coordinates ongitade 16° 4o' ama ai ed necr a point with the coordinates latitude 35° 5’, longitude 5', traversing a near or exactly horizontal F an with a length of wry nerly twenty-five (25 miles at an altitude the wurface of the earth of approximately € om the estimate of angular altituis @mployed in the ty with respect to the earth works out at between miles @ second - depemiing on the duration estimate used. It should be observed that the above results are oDtained under the assumption that the poimte of appe:rance and diseppecrence of the firebell were seen simultaneously by beth the Bernal and Los Alamos groups, In case this eesmp>tion is not fulfilled, the real path could very easily be moO more than 10 to 12 miles long, the velocity with respect to the earth them working out at between 3 and 6 miles a second. While there is thus considerable uncertainty beganee of the lack of confirming azimmth observa- tious from a third station, the concordance in the five (5) different estimates of er elevation anke it most unlikely that tne linear height of the f was much less than & miles and moh more tnan 10 miles. It is interesting te observe that the backward extension of the 2S-mile path first given passes almost centrally across the Los Alasos reservation. During the entire night of the 12th, meteors of all magnitudes froz the first to the fifth and of various eolore (with white and ye! low pre- dom i nat and with were occasionally seen emenmating - from the © was well adeve the horizon even at the time of the Starvation Peak incident. (near Bernal. 3. ML) Gon- sequently, the apparent paths of the meteors from the radiant appeared as