Avalon, Catalina Island: Bright orange-to-red object falls straight down
On the night of March 15, 1955, a civilian at Avalon on Catalina Island saw a single very bright, round object the size of a nickel, changing from orange to red, fall straight down and fade from sight after about two seconds. The Air Force records assess it as probably a meteor.
Background
The U.S. Air Force file comprises a Project 10073 record card, a report card and a teletype report; according to the teletype, the observer just happened to notice the object, which fell straight down and faded out of sight after about two seconds under a clear, dry and cool sky. The record card concludes “Probable meteor,” a USAF intelligence officer writes in the teletype that flight path and length of time in sight suggest it was probably a meteor, and the report card marks the case as probably astronomical, adding that because of the brevity of the sighting no further investigation was deemed worthwhile. The wording of the assessment varies: the comment on the report card says “possibly” astronomical while the box “Probably Astronomical” is checked, and the official description speaks of an evening sighting, whereas the teletype gives only “night.” The details are taken from records released by the U.S. Department of War in PURSUE Release 07 (record code DOW-UAP-D177) and do not represent an independent determination by From Beyond Space.