Spherical UFO sighted in Massachusetts in 1956

Summary

A 26-year-old student at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst reported in December 1956 having seen a dark, round object the size of a basketball. The object had a ball-shaped exhaust tapering to a pencil-thin tail and disappeared in an orange-yellow puff of explosion. The sighting lasted between 1 and 3 seconds, and the witness called the 4050th Air Refueling Wing by phone to report the event.

The official evaluation concluded it was likely a meteor, though other possibilities like balloons or aircraft were considered. No physical evidence was found and no sound was heard. The description, duration, and manner of disappearance suggested a natural explanation, but the case remains a classic example of an unresolved UFO sighting.