International: Celestial Phenomena

A Swedish astronomer, gazing through his telescope one quiet night last week, saw a luminous something—no bigger than a glowworm—appear on the horizon. Within ten seconds it had grown into a 90-ft.-long, torpedolike missile whose fiery tail spewed blue and green smoke. Said the astronomer: "I had visions of doomsday."

All of Sweden was having similar visions (TIME, Aug. 19). Individual missiles had been streaking over the country since May, but now they were coming in swarms. Last week, Stockholm's Aftonbladet reported that an Army plane collided with one of the "things." Three flyers were killed. Two Swedes boating on a...