Los Alamos Conference on Aerial Phenomena, 1949

Text

This text came with the file. It may have mistakes. When the text and the image disagree, the image is right.

•
Conference on AERIAL PHENOMENA
Page 14
I have found in J~e literature only three cases where no detonations, no
rumbl:i.n.gs were i--eported.
One of those ic ·i;b.e Belgium. observation in 1855,
and I thiuk should be diacoun'tt!d. ~ca:1::se meteorists hardly exieted at that
tmo.
Some :falls occurred end wre not reported at all. The other two are
reasonably receut observations~ one in 1921 end one in 1922. They occurred,
hcme•,er, :tn the deep South wheJ•e negroes, I think, were the only observers.
Even thcr.?, the 1-1hizzing of the :meteorites as tbey t'ell through the air, waa
reyol:-ted.
I knm, of no case of an actual meteori~.;e where at least the
wh.i.zzill8 of the falling body coming down -th..-rough the air has not been
repo~ted.
Dr. Braub1..try:
•• • •••• ?
Dr. LaPnz: t-1eteol•ite i'e.lls, I believe that \faS ·the way you phrased it? In
the case or a shooting star, of course, you never bear a thine; because the
entire mass is, v~ry kindly, vaporizeci. befoz-c it gets, say, within 50 miles
of the earth....... Not only noises, but s.ccompanied by sucb Zl.Oises that
persons o:r animnla are really frightened out of' their Wite. For example,
·m~ h.o.ve a. beau-ti:rul case where 2 horses killed themselves - in the Norden
CO\m~y 1''alls ... they rr.ay have been felled by meteoriteaI but I cm inclined to
think the.G the noi:cle frightened the'Jll until they dashed into a ditch •• . •••
Anim·lls go crazy.
Cot1d:,..•. Yiandelkoi..-n:
Do you think 1'1~ u:r:.ueual. no fragments are fOUI!d?
Dr. La.Paz:
I certo.inly do.
And I ·think it unusual, not only 1n the caee of
the sreen fireballs, but in view or the fac·t tha·i: a greo.t fall, like the
. . . . . fall of October 30, 1947., 'llhire:ror the first time we detected a bit of
the •1.uter~st on the ps.rtr. ot the military, '~ere too ve recovered nothing.
Oc·oober 30, 19!!-7, about ~:48 in the afternoon there was, what appeared to
be, a tr~nendous ~eteorite ~all. over the reaervetion area - the Four Corners
Aref1..
We got thel-e m'Ghin a ver-y i'ew hours, had excellent observations, wnt
back time 8lld age.in, cxhauated groUild search, CAP people in airplanes, we .bs.d
e radio centered, we h.ad radio controlled jeeps and a lot of people out wal,k..
ing around
not s. trace.
I can't give you a color on that becauoe •••.•
O
Comdr. Mandelkorn: Ordinarily, when phenomena. of' that nature occur, you are
able to recover aome material?
Dr. La~.z: Yes, some meterial is recovered almost always.
If' proper search
is conducted.
Ue hav , by the t,ra.y, very ·Gb.orough air search conducted by
Gill Field Corps of' Intelligence Unit; Dr. Lansberg ot the Research a:od
Developiilent Board, very kindly interested himDelt in the problem and the air
seo.rchcra resultea. not even in the discovery of a broken branch.
The region
ls heavlly forreated. If' branches baO: been broken, I th1nlt tbey would have
been det,e:ted.. I baren 1t claaaified ·i:;hs.t particular fall, however, with the
green fireba1le and tor this reason: tbat left a train. Another thing vbich
I n.tlsht have mentioned - a non:ial meteorite fall . . . . . ·t-rill produce a lOIIS
(:Dtb.zrillg i;rain visible by- ds.y and night. Luminous by night and b;y d&y,