NUFORC Sighting 88382

Occurred: 1956-06-15 18:00 Local - Approximate
Reported: 2012-04-12 23:38 Pacific
Duration: 5 to 10 minutes
No of observers: 2

Location: Palo Alto, CA, USA

Shape: Fireball
Characteristics: Aura or haze around object, Landed

Fireball landing, and when inspection attempted, retreating.

In the mid 1950's, on the grounds of Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA, my wife and I were driving late one afternoon on a back road, parallel to and south of to San Fransiquito Creek ( where the Stanford Shopping Center is now ). At that time, it was a "back road." As we were about half a mile west of El Camino Real, a brilliant ball of silvery-white light, about 3 to 6 feet in diameter, came whizzing in from about North-Northwest and landed then bounced a couple of times on the ground approximately 100 feet to our south - in what, at that time, was an empty field bordered by a barbed-wire fence.

Being amazed and wondering, I stopped the car and attempted to get through the barbed wire - to see what the thing was. But, before I could make it through the fence - say in about 5 minutes! - that ball suddenly shot up and retreated back in the direction from which it came.

NUFORC Note:

Witness indicates that the date of the sighting is approximate. PD

Posted 2012-04-18