File 126 · 2 November 1971
Delphos ring, Kansas
Delphos, Kansas, United States
Opened 9/4/2026
Ledger illustration of the file — not a photograph of the object. Ledger illustration of the report. Kansas farmyard. — Night Ledger illustration of the file
Standing
Unidentified
On the public record, and still open. A claim, paper, or film — not a finding that it was ours, and not a finding that it was not.
What was claimed
A teenager reported a mushroom-shaped object over a sheep pen. A glowing ring remained on the soil for days and was sampled.
What is on the record
This file is a working record — a report, not a verdict. Official paper, if any, is linked where we have it.
Ronald Johnson, 16, was tending sheep on the family farm when a mass of colored light, mushroom-shaped, hovered and then departed into the sky. His parents saw a bright object in the distance. On the ground, a ring of white, dry soil glowed in the dark. Neighbors and the local sheriff saw the ring. Soil samples went to several labs; some reported unusual hydrophobicity and organic compounds, others less so.
The APRO photograph of the glowing ring is the image people remember. Skeptics have suggested fungus and urine rings. The Johnsons stuck to the night.
Could this have been ours?
The known sky, that night.
Satellites were already up. The station was not. Starlink was not.
Always
Venus and the bright planets
A fixed brilliant point. Does not streak. Does not hover over a street then leave. Often the first misread light in a rural report.
Always
Aircraft, balloons, meteors
Landing lights, flares, lanterns, reentries, fireballs. They are on the known sky. They do not close a file by themselves — they are what a serious look has to hold the claim against.
Orbit · Space — the desks for lights that are already named.
Sources
Related files
Same craft, same place, same years. A neighbor in the catalogue — not a conclusion.
Same craft · Same country · August 14, 2026, 2:00 PM
Large Rectangular Multi-Colored Object Above Tree Line
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho · United States
Unidentified
Married couple observed and filmed a very large (300-400 ft) rectangular object hovering above a tree line in daylight. It emitted multiple colors of blinking lights from different sides.
Same craft · Same country · 13 August 2026
Pale object high over Ocracoke Island
Ocracoke, North Carolina · United States
Unidentified
A fisher near the southern end of Ocracoke Island reported a solid off-white rectangular-conical object high in the eastern sky before sunset.
Same craft · Same country · September 2015
Pantex airspace, Amarillo
Pantex Plant, Amarillo, Texas · United States
Unidentified
A Department of Energy file released in 2026 describes an unidentified object in the airspace over the Pantex nuclear weapons plant.
Same craft · Same country · January 2015
Gimbal FLIR
Off the U.S. East Coast · United States
Unidentified
Navy fighter crews recorded a fleet of objects. The Gimbal video shows a dark shape against clouds, apparently rotating, with a trail. The Pentagon released it in 2017.
Same craft · Same country · 15 September 1991
STS-48, orbital objects
Low Earth orbit · United States
Unidentified
A Discovery camcorder taped objects near Earth that appeared to streak after a flash. NASA called them ice particles and debris.
Same craft · Same country · November 17, 1986
Japan Airlines Flight 1628 Encounter
Eastern Alaska · United States
Unidentified
Captain Kenji Terauchi and crew of a JAL Boeing 747 cargo flight observed three unidentified objects, including two smaller craft and a massive 'mothership' the size of an aircraft carrier. Objects were tracked on onboard weather radar and by Anchorage ARTCC and military radar for nearly 50 minutes. FAA investigated and held a press conference.