Exeter incident

Record summary

What happened Teenager Norman Muscarello reported a large object or row of red lights moving silently over fields and houses near Exeter. At the police station, officer Eugene Bertrand took him back to the area; Bertrand and later officer David Hunt also reported bright red lights that moved and seemed to approach before departing. Project Blue Book proposed that the witnesses saw lights from Air Force aerial-refueling operations, but the officers argued that the timing and behavior did not match. Later analysis has revived tanker and bomber lighting as a plausible explanation, possibly combined with bright stars and the witnesses' changing viewpoint. Evidence Three principal witnesses, prompt police involvement, contemporaneous Air Force correspondence and documented military flying activity in the region. Explanations considered Aircraft participating in Operation Big Blast, particularly refueling-tanker lights, are the leading conventional explanation. The witnesses' perception of one large object may have joined several lights at uncertain distance. What remains uncertain No radar, photograph or physical trace is known. Descriptions of size and proximity were inferred from lights against a dark background. Primary source Exeter incident — Wikipedia Further source trail Project Blue Book records — https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos