Lincoln La Paz

Lincoln La Paz (1897–1985) was an American astronomer at the University of New Mexico who specialized in meteoritics. He pioneered the scientific study of meteors and meteorites and founded the Institute of Meteoritics at the University of New Mexico, establishing himself as a respected academic with expertise in celestial observations.

In the late 1940s, La Paz was recruited by the U.S. military to investigate green fireball sightings over New Mexico's sensitive military installations. He observed unusual characteristics including horizontal trajectories and a lack of debris, leading him to conclude that the fireballs were not natural meteors