On March 12, 1967, a New Mexico State University student was hiking and photographing land formations for a geology class near Las Cruces, New Mexico, when they captured a black and white photograph of an unusual object in the sky.
The witness described the object as "a big round silvery object hovering over a hill about 500 yards away." The photograph clearly shows a circular, metallic-looking object suspended in the air above a hill in the desert landscape.
The photograph was later published and became part of the Bettmann archive, now part of Corbis. It has been cited in various publications documenting UFO sightings from the 1960s.
This sighting occurred during a period of increased UFO activity in the late 1960s. The sighting took place in New Mexico, a state that has long been associated with UFO sightings and various military testing programs, including those at White Sands and other installations.
The photograph represents a rare documented case from this era, with the witness being a university student engaged in academic field work, adding credibility to the account.
Various explanations have been proposed for this photograph:
- Conventional Aircraft: The object could potentially be a conventional aircraft viewed from an unusual angle
- Balloon: A weather balloon or other floating object could produce a similar appearance
- Atmospheric Phenomena: Unusual cloud formations or atmospheric effects
- Authentic UAP: Researchers who believe this represents genuine unidentified aerial phenomena
The photograph has been described as "spectacular" by observers, though limited information is available about any official investigation into this specific case.
No official investigation or determination has been documented for this specific incident. The photograph has been preserved in the Bettmann archive and continues to be cited in discussions of significant UFO photographic evidence from the 1960s.
The Las Cruces UFO photograph remains a subject of interest among researchers examining historical UFO cases, though much about the incident remains undocumented.