Holloman UFO Photograph

On October 16, 1957, Ella Fortune—a welfare nurse who worked at the Mescalero Indian Reservation near Three Rivers, New Mexico—was driving along Highway 54 near the Holloman North Test Range when she noticed a glowing object in the sky.

She stopped her car and observed the object hovering motionless against the sky. There was no wind at the time. Fortune was able to capture a clear photograph of the object using her Kodak Pony 135 camera. The object remained visible for more than 15 minutes, allowing her to get a good photograph.

The photograph shows a disc-shaped object in the sky, with a distinctive appearance that has drawn comparisons to similar sightings over the decades.

Skeptical researchers have analyzed the Holloman photograph and proposed various explanations:

• Lenticular Cloud: Some skeptics suggest the object may have been a lenticular cloud—a lens-shaped cloud that forms at high altitudes and can appear stationary due to wind patterns. However, witnesses note there was no wind at the time of the sighting.
• Conventional Aircraft: The possibility of a conventional aircraft viewed from an unusual angle has been proposed.
• Hoax: Some have suggested the photograph could be a hoax, though no evidence has been presented to support this.

Ella Fortune remained convinced that what she photographed was a UFO and not any conventional explanation. The photograph has become one of the more notable UFO images from the 1950s.

The Holloman UFO photograph has drawn comparisons to similar sightings, most notably a photograph taken in Bergen, Norway in July 2022. The two images show remarkably similar objects, suggesting a possible recurring phenomenon or similar craft design.

View Related Case: Bergen, Norway UFO (2022) →