Red Bluff highway patrol sighting
On the night of 13 August 1960, California Highway Patrol officers Charles Carson and Stanley Scott, near Corning south of Red Bluff, watched a large object with red lights for about two hours; it moved away when they shone their spotlight on it.
1960 CE · 40.05, -122.17 · status: disputed
The account
Other officers and residents reported lights that night. Project Blue Book attributed the sighting to refraction of the planet Mars and bright stars; NICAP publicly disputed the explanation.
The sceptical view
Blue Book found no radar confirmation; an astronomical mirage over warm ground and smoke from forest fires is the official explanation.
The researched reading
Two highway patrolmen watched a light for two hours. Refracted planets and stars on a night of strong inversions is a reasonable explanation, but it fits imperfectly and the case remains disputed.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Something known, misidentified | 30% | Blue Book concluded the officers watched refracted images of a planet and bright stars low on the horizon; over two hours, a distorted star or planet in strong inversions can seem to move, change colour and "react". |
| Genuinely anomalous | 25% | McDonald disputed the refraction explanation and the radiosonde data used for it, and argued the object was close and large; multiple officers and an alleged radar confirmation (not found by Blue Book) keep a real unexplained share. |
| A known natural phenomenon | 20% | Menzel argued it was a night of strong multiple temperature and humidity inversions, which create looming, mirages and erratic star images; smoke from forest fires adds to the distortion. |
| A poorly understood natural phenomenon | 8% | A poorly understood luminous phenomenon could explain a light that seemed to respond to the spotlight. |
| Perception, memory or mind | 7% | Long night watches of a light and excitement can make a stationary source seem to move and respond. |
| Secret human technology | 7% | Military aircraft, including helicopters or experimental craft from nearby bases, could explain an object with red lights. |
| A hoax or fabrication | 3% | Two police officers, other officers and residents reported it; deliberate invention is unlikely. |
Official position: Project Blue Book attributed it to refraction of a planet and bright stars under inversion conditions; NICAP and McDonald disputed this.