Early UFO's Led to Research in Green Fireballs : Project Twinkle

Project Twinkle carried out research by ANC and ARDC investigating unusual light phenomena occurring the American southwest and in the general area of Holloman AFB and Vaughn, New Mexico.

Various meteor experts and scientists at Los Alamos had observed since about 1947 these rare and weird aerial phenomena that looked similar to a meteor but whose color and unexpected appearances did not look like a meteor.

Dr. Lincoln LaPaz refused to accept the scientific communities classification of them as natural phenomena. He feared they were some type of man made (read Soviet) space object or debris or trial missiles. LaPaz indicated these rare red fireballs were of recent origin and indicated the  year 1947. He reported such a sighting, without his name being used, while he worked around Roswell before the famous UFO crash there in July of that year. Their odd color, usual trajectories and unexpected appearances (not part of the usual meteor showers) precluded for him labeling them as a natural phenomenon.  In the Project Grudge report of 1951 he cites an example of an event in Detroit, Michigan 7 July 1951.

LaPaz did believe the odd red color was a visual aftereffect of the object coming through the atmosphere ; perhaps being green, green-white and then going into a red ro red-orange, and final white stage. What the object was, for him, was the topic of some discussion.

The Project Twinkle report does indicate that in the southwest in the 1947 to 1954 time span intennse visual, electronic and photographic study was going on around Los Alamos, Vaughn and Holloman AFB related to meteors and fireballs.  This project was set to fade away in 1952 after time had been given for some comparative studies of possible returning meteor or fireball "showers." It was just not worth the effort and expense.

However, in 1952-1953 the number, scope, and nature of reports of odd things in the sky would heat up in some serious and often still unexplained "flaps."  Project Grudge set to fade into the sunset had be reshaped to operate with more intention, scientific method and purpose and Project Blue Book was born.