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This declassified document is a March 22, 1949 letter from the Security Operations Branch of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission's Santa Fe Directed Operations. It forwards a transcript of a Conference on Aerial Phenomena held at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory on February 16, 1949. At the conference, Dr. LaPaz described the green fireballs, including his own Starvation Peak sighting of December 12, 1948, and argued that they were not conventional meteors. Dr. Teller and others discussed why the fireballs made no sound, and no conclusion was reached.
“Green”19 pages
Conference on AERIAL PHENOMENA Page 18 Dr. LaPe.z: J'..ay I mske the observation t-hat if you look in the chapter by .••.• , you~ll find that in Alaska where this observation was reported, there are very few times s.t this season of the year 't.,hen you can•t see an 11urora. Dr. Teller: I have the feeling that it is . o.. eith.er a discovery in physical psychology or ..... Dr. La.Paz: I thought that psychol.ogical element ,101,.wl come in here! Dr. Telle:;:-: Here is a slightly irrelevant question - you brought 1n the fly ing discs. What is the connection? Dr.. La.P~-~: I didn~t bring in the flying discs. Mr. neuburger: I brought in t.he matter ot the f'lying discs because the Air Force, a.a I tmderstand, now have claesed the flying d1sos and these fireballs into one category. Captain Neef: •... The ODl.y indication we be.ve is a l.etter from MAC in Waohington Saturday where they indica.tGd the old project Sign is ~ project Grudgo, which includes the phenome:oa observed in Rew Mexico. They knew or tbis meeting and were ~oing to send a represcm.tative. Dr. L&Paz: I Just asked Mr. Hoyt a moment o.go how he would c<Dp&re the br1ll.ence of this obJect with that of an aircra.t't f'lare. Be said they were of comparabl.e ~tu.de. I think that was def'initely ruled out .•.•. Dr. Teller: I Wlderstood that e. reasonable explanation of the flyag discs - alld I suppose ·chat it ie generally know - is that they ar& meteorological balloons••••• I underste.nd that in quite a number of cases there have been vecy close directions established. . . . . . I mwrt say that ~ram what you have t5e.id, it certs.inly sounds like eveeytbing el.ee but meteors. The th1zlg that impresses 1D.Q 1s your evidence of the horizontal flight. Meteors do not uaual.ly come in like that..... . (mumbled tel.k be-tween Drs. Bradbury and Teller) Cap·l.ain If f: ...... Change of direction such that ve haven't en abl.e to follov 1t up yet. One of our men vus returnuag Sumay night vhen our tover operator aav this object to the Southwest from Kirtland Field am .... Arizona reported it was Southeast from them. F'rom. the ltirtland tover it was a bronze color. The time checlta, but frcn .•.. Arizona it w.s green until it turned straight down and ve·e-rea. Soina , . . • Dr. LaPaz: Dr. Teller, mq I mention this one other instance that ebcnrs maybe ,my I have more concern than is lilerited by the evidence I am able to present. I deal Yi.th Vic Regener and I knov that the physicist doesn't like to work vitb anything that ca.nit be photographed. I share that view but a meteorist is not available s~times to photograph shooting stars, even the conventional type. Durillg the war I vna acting as Director of the Ohio Section
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