Mariana film, Great Falls
Baseball manager Nick Mariana filmed two bright spots crossing the sky over Great Falls, Montana, in one of the first UFO movies.
1950 CE · 47.50, -111.30 · status: disputed
The account
The 15 August 1950 film was examined by the Air Force, the Robertson Panel and the Condon Committee. The Robertson Panel's evidence list (Tab B) includes the Great Falls, Montana, film of August 1950 alongside the Tremonton film.
The sceptical view
The Air Force concluded the spots were sun reflections from two F-94 jets, withdrew that claim, then endorsed it again; repeated studies have been inconclusive.
The researched reading
Real film of two bright spots. Sun glints from jets known to be nearby remain the best explanation, though analysts have never been able to prove it.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Something known, misidentified | 50% | Two F-94 jets were reportedly landing at the nearby air base, and sunlight glinting off aircraft can appear as steady bright spots; Hartmann found the images hard to reconcile with aircraft, but could not rule them out. |
| Undetermined | 20% | The share a generic explanation had beyond what has been shown for this case: it fits many cases like this one, but has not been demonstrated for this one. |
| Genuinely anomalous | 12% | Robert Baker’s 1956 analysis called the jet explanation strained, and the uncertain date (5 or 15 August) weakens the aircraft match. |
| A hoax or fabrication | 5% | Mariana said the Air Force removed the clearest frames; there is no evidence that the film itself was faked. |
| A poorly understood natural phenomenon | 4% | An unusual optical effect is a remote option. |
| A known natural phenomenon | 3% | Birds or balloons lit by the sun have been considered but fit less well. |
| Perception, memory or mind | 3% | The film is the main evidence, so witness perception matters little. |
| Secret human technology | 3% | Nothing points to secret technology over Great Falls. |
Official position: The Air Force attributed the spots to sun reflections from two F-94 jets; the Condon Committee called the evidence inconclusive.