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Vata Teta Qt pew THE UNIVERS!TY OF NEW MEXI¢ , ALMIQUERQUE INSTITUTE OF METEORITICS May 23, 1950 To: kt. Colonel Doyle Rees, Commanting Officer 17th District, 0. 5. I. From: lLinecin Lafaz, Director Institute of I'eteoritics Subject: Anomalous Luminous Phenornena (Seventh Report) l, In the second report of this series, dated 1948, December 20, the vriter listed ten sicnificant differences between the bright green horizon- tally-movine fireballs observed in the interval 194°, Dece:iber 5-20, and typical meteors, These differences vere the following: (1) Phe horizontal nature of the paths of most of the December firebalis is most unusual, Genuine meteors ere rarely observed to move in horizontal paths. (2) Acain the very low heicht of the December fireball discussed in section 2 above sets it off in sharp centrest from the centine meteors for which heizhts of the order of 40 or more miles are no: mally observed. (3) The velocity determined for the fireball of December 12 is much less than the velocities determined fron typical meteors (and vet is considerably rreater then the speeds of the V-2 Rockets or jet planes or of conventional flares). (4) In the case of meteorites that penetrate to as low levels as that determined for the fircball of December 12, the observed lu- minous phenomena are always accompanied by very violent moises. No noises whatever have keen observed in connection with the various December fireballs so far investirated. (Note added on 1950, May 23: Fossible exceptions to the noiselessness of green fireballs are the incider.ts of 1949, January 30, and 194¢, Deceirber 4.) (5) Senuine meteors mornaally show remarkable variations in brightness, terinning as fine thin hair lines, which are scarcely visible to the obsefver, and then brightening up to Plash out near’ the end of their paths. In tix case of the Decerker firchballs most of the observers have reported that the green balls appeared almost > instantly at their full bright-css, = wet sl Bae eu Rec eenrny ee Mae Ricans sagone sage