Kecksburg fireball

A brilliant fireball crossed the sky over the Detroit–Windsor area and was reported from Ontario to Pennsylvania. Residents of Kecksburg said something fell into the woods; state police and military personnel searched and reported finding nothing.

Explanation

Astronomers identified a bright bolide seen from six states and Ontario; no object was found at Kecksburg. Claims of a recovered acorn-shaped craft are unsupported, and the Soviet Kosmos 96 re-entry was ruled out by timing.

What was seen

Shape: Fireball; later claims of an acorn-shaped object
Witnesses: Thousands across six states
Duration: Seconds (fireball)

Browse

• United States
• 1960s
• Disputed
• Tracked object events
• Official government documents
• Many independent witnesses
• Photographs
• Lights and fireballs

Similar cases

• Michigan "swamp gas" sightings 20 March 1966
• Zond IV re-entry — the “craft with windows” 3 March 1968
• Washington, D.C. radar-visual sightings 19 July 1952
• The light over California — a Trident II test from USS Kentucky 7 November 2015