Dept. of DefenseUnresolvedAmbiguous
Round object with cup-ball shape — Corona, NM (Jan 1950, Sighting 161)
~Jan 1950Corona, New Mexico10s
Analysis — our summary
Sighting 161 in the 17th District OSI table: An unknown aerial object was reported near Corona, New Mexico, traveling from southwest to southeast and descending. It was described as round (cup-ball shaped), approximately 6 inches apparent diameter at range, yellowish-white with blue tinge, and disappeared behind a mountain. Duration approximately 10 seconds.
As reported — verbatim from the document
“Sighting table entry: '161 Jan … Corona, New Mexico … From SW to SE … Descending … Yellowish … Round … Cup ball 6" in dia … Compared fast … Disappeared behind mt. (1)'”
Analyst notes — caveats & confidence
Extracted from OCR-corrupted table (page 29). Exact date within January 1950 is not legible. Apparent physical size of '6 inches in diameter' almost certainly refers to angular apparent size at an unknown distance, not true physical size — or is observer's comparison to a held object. Confidence low due to OCR noise and limited data.
Provenance
Source documentDOW-UAP-D017_General_Correspondence_Of_Sandia.pdf
Document typeGeneral correspondence file — multi-document compilation including OSI summaries, scientific reports (LaPaz/Crozier), field investigation summaries, and raw sighting tables; 1948–1950
Reporting agencyDept. of Defense
Source pages116
DeclassifiedFirst public at this release (2026)
Held classified~76 years (≥, to this release)
Extraction confidence LowHow cleanly this record could be parsed from the source — driven by legibility & redaction. It is not a measure of how credible or anomalous the sighting is.