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diff --git a/old/66639-0.txt b/old/66639-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 95c76b1..0000000 --- a/old/66639-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,13140 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The World of Flying Saucers, by Donald -H. Menzel - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The World of Flying Saucers - A Scientific Examination of a Major Myth of the Space Age - -Authors: Donald H. Menzel - Lyle G. Boyd - -Release Date: October 31, 2021 [eBook #66639] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Tim Lindell, Charlie Howard, and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was - produced from images made available by the HathiTrust - Digital Library and Doane University.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WORLD OF FLYING -SAUCERS *** - - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes - -Italic text is enclosed in _underscores_, while subscripts are preceded, -but not followed by an underscore. Other notes will be found at the end -of this eBook. - - - - -THE WORLD OF FLYING SAUCERS - - - - - _The World of - Flying Saucers_ - - A SCIENTIFIC EXAMINATION OF A - MAJOR MYTH OF THE SPACE AGE - - _Donald H. Menzel_ - AND - _Lyle G. Boyd_ - - DOUBLEDAY & COMPANY, INC., GARDEN CITY, NEW YORK - - - - - _Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 63-12989_ - _Copyright © 1963 by Donald H. Menzel and Lyle G. Boyd_ - _All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America_ - - - - -_To_ FRED L. WHIPPLE, _whose studies have added much to our knowledge -of meteors--which have furnished more than their share of UFOs._ - - - - -_Contents_ - - - PREFACE xiii - - I. THE SAUCER WORLDS 1 - - UFO Reports and the Air Force--The Scientist’s View--The - Question of “Evidence”--Various Types of UFO--Descriptions - of UFOs--A “Baedeker’s Guide” to Saucerdom - - - II. LO! 13 - - Arnold’s Nine Disks--The Great Shaver Mystery--The Maury - Island Fragments--Science Fiction Adopts the Saucers--Mirage - or Wave Clouds? - - - III. AIR-BORNE UFOS: BALLOONS TO BUBBLES 31 - - The Mantell Tragedy--A Probable Solution of the Mantell Case--A - Radiosonde over Virginia--Skyhook and Pibal UFOs--The - Guantánamo “Dogfight”--The Wallops Island UFO--Weather - Balloons and Saucers--Plastic UFOs and the “Stack of Coins”--Jets - and Contrails--The Killian Case-- ... And Kites and Soap - Bubbles - - - IV. THE SPANGLED HEAV’NS: STARS AND PLANETS 60 - - A Mirage of Sirius--Earth’s Distorting Atmosphere--The “Whipping - Girl” of Saucerdom--The Ryan Case--Venus as a Morning - Star--Venus as an Evening Star--The Rotating Lights of Japan--UFOs - and the Opposition of Mars--The Gorman “Dogfight”--Only - a Balloon?--Jupiter through a Jet Trail - - - V. OUT OF THE SKY: METEORS AND FIREBALLS 88 - - Stones from Heaven--Meteor Streams and Showers--The Green - Fireballs--Meteors in the Records--Fallacies about Meteors--Facts - about Meteors--Unusual Fireballs--Great Meteor Processions--The - Chiles-Whitted Sighting--Other Flaming UFOs - - - VI. LIVING LIGHTS 118 - - The Luminous Owls of Norfolk--Things That Glow in the Dark--Sea - Gulls as UFOs--The Lubbock Lights--The Lubbock Pictures--Other - Winged UFOs--The Tremonton Movies - - - VII. PANIC 133 - - Growth of a Panic--The Scoutmaster’s UFO--Monster in West - Virginia--The Panel of Civilian Scientists - - - VIII. PHANTOMS ON RADAR 145 - - Radar as a Reporter--The Principle of Radar--Weather and - Radar Echoes--The Kinross Case--The “Invasion” of Washington, - D.C.--Radar Experiments in Washington--“Simultaneous” - Radar-Visual Reports--“Ghosts” and “Angels” on Radar--The - Rapid City Sighting - - - IX. E-M AND G-FIELDS IN UFO-LAND 172 - - Stormy Weather in Texas--The Phenomenon of Ball Lightning--E-M - and Non-E-M Saucers--The Saturnian Visitors--Surveillance - by Flying Eggs--Saucerdom’s Miraculous Electromagnetic - Force--Effects and Causes--“G-Fields” and UFO Propulsion--The - G-Field Myth--Electricity, Magnetism, and Gravity - - - X. CONTACT! 198 - - Earthlings and Extraterrestrials--The “Contactees”--Adamski’s - Travels--Photography and the UFO--The Isle of Lovers Hoax--The - Trindade Island Saucer--The Brazilian Naval Ministry--The - Icarai Submarine Hunting Club--The Trindade Photographs--Project - Ozma - - - XI. ANGEL HAIR, PANCAKES, ETC. 219 - - Angel Hair and Spiders--Other Varieties of Angel Hair--The Wisconsin - Pancakes--The Moon Bridge--“Pieces of Saucers”--Silver - Rain in Brazil--Other Mysterious Fragments - - - XII. SPECIAL EFFECTS 238 - - The Role of Unusual Coincidence--The Problem of Unknown - Lights--Michigan’s Flying Bird Cage--UFOs from Reflections--Sundogs - in Utah and France--Bright Spots on Films--Unfamiliar - Lights on Planes--Inversions in California--The Chesapeake Bay - Case--A Possible Explanation of the Nash-Fortenberry Disks--Other - UFOs in “Stack” Formation--The Tombaugh Rectangles - - - XIII. INVESTIGATORS: AIR FORCE AND CIVILIAN 271 - - Official Study of UFOs--Civilian Saucer Groups--NICAP--The - “Conspiracy” Fantasy-UFO at Sheffield Lake, Ohio--“The Fitzgerald - Report”--The Open Mind - - - APPENDIX 291 - - - INDEX 295 - - - - -_Acknowledgments_ - - - PLATE I: a, The Seattle _Times_. b, A Shell Photo - - PLATE II: a, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. b, Wide World - Photo - - PLATE III: a, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. b, Gilberto - Vazquez, _El Imparcial_, San Juan, Puerto Rico - - PLATE IV: a, Wide World Photo. b, Wide World Photo. c, David Atlas, - Air Force Cambridge Research Center, Bedford, Massachusetts - - PLATE V: a, Bernd T. Matthias and Solomon J. Buchsbaum, Bell - Telephone Laboratories. b, Dr. John C. Jensen, Nebraska - Wesleyan University - - PLATE VI: a, United Press Photo. b, United Press Photo - - PLATE VII: a, C. L. Johnson. b, Mrs. William Felton Barrett - - PLATE VIII: a, United Press Photo. b, Wide World Photo - - Figure 18. Courtesy _True, The Man’s Magazine_. Copyright 1952, - Fawcett Publications, Inc. - -_Drawings by Cushing and Nevell_ - - - - -PREFACE - - -Both as scientists and as devotees of science fiction, we have long -been interested in space travel. When reports of unidentified flying -objects began to increase in the years between 1947 and 1952, one of -us (D.H.M.) collected and studied the limited information available -about the sightings. He soon concluded (with a slight feeling of -disappointment!) that the flying saucers were not vehicles from other -worlds but were only mundane objects and events of various kinds, -some of them commonplace, some familiar chiefly to meteorologists, -physicists, and astronomers. - -At a conference with Air Force officials in Washington in April 1952, -he presented his idea that planetary mirages, sundogs, reflections, -and other astronomical, atmospheric, and optical phenomena probably -accounted for a large percentage of the mysterious UFOs. This -suggestion met with strong skepticism from some of the conferees who at -that time were sympathetic to the interplanetary hypothesis and were, -of course, better acquainted with military than with physical science. -Other conferees, however, wished to consider and test the theories -offered. Proof obviously required a knowledge of all the facts of a -given sighting, facts that often were not available to the public. The -Air Force therefore granted access to the file of UFO cases. At the -same time, since many of the cases were then classified as secret, -the Air Force imposed the condition that security regulations must be -strictly observed. - -D.H.M. was then preparing a book to present his explanations of flying -saucers. Acceptance of the Air Force offer, with the accompanying -restriction, would have prevented his publishing analyses based on -material in the files. It would also have hindered any future public -discussion of the UFO problem. For these reasons he felt compelled to -decline the opportunity. - -In the spring of 1959 as we began planning the present book, we again -requested permission to study the Air Force records of UFO sightings. -This time the officials generously opened their files to us without -restriction. Thus we have been able to include detailed studies of -particular incidents, to give the explanations found for most of them -by Air Force investigators, to explain the causes of some hitherto -unsolved cases, and to suggest highly probable solutions for several -classic “Unknowns.” - -To discuss each one of the thousands of unidentified flying objects -reported during the last fifteen years is obviously impossible. We -have therefore chosen to describe the common types of sighting and to -analyze some of the representative and most interesting cases in each -category. In general we have avoided using the names of the persons -involved; but when the names are well known to the flying-saucer public -and have previously appeared in print, we have felt no obligation to -disguise them. - -Many persons have contributed to the material in this book. Members of -the United States Air Force have generously helped us to collect the -basic facts, and have shown amazing patience in answering hundreds of -small questions of detail. In particular, we wish to thank Col. Philip -G. Evans, Col. Edward H. Wynn, Lt. Col. William T. Coleman, Lt. Col. -Robert J. Friend, Lt. Col. Lawrence J. Tacker, Major Carl R. Hart, and -Sgt. David Moody. - -Others who have helped us in various ways include Dr. Isaac Asimov, -Mr. Carleton Atherton, Miss C. M. Botley, Mr. Wilfred J. Chambers, Mr. -Albert M. Chop, Dr. Leon Davidson, Mr. Charles W. Dean, Mr. John F. -Gifford, Mr. Richard Hall, Mr. Theodore Hieatt, Prof. Seymour B. Hess, -Prof. J. Allen Hynek, Dr. Luigi G. Jacchia, Mr. Craig L. Johnson, Dr. -Urner Liddell, Mr. Oscar Main, Prof. Charles A. Maney, Dr. Richard E. -McCrosky, Mr. John W. McLellan, Capt. William B. Nash, Dr. Thornton W. -Page, Dr. Vernon G. Plank, the late Dr. H. P. Robertson, Dr. Donald H. -Robey, Dr. Carl Sagan, Dr. Clyde W. Tombaugh, Mr. John Walkin, Prof. -Fred L. Whipple, and Mr. John G. Wolbach. - - D.H.M. - L.G.B. - - - - -THE WORLD OF FLYING SAUCERS - - - - -_Chapter_ I - -THE SAUCER WORLDS - - -Thousands of reports of “flying saucers,” “unidentified flying -objects,” or “UFOs” have appeared in print during the last fifteen -years. Although most of the things seen have later been explained as -unusual but normal phenomena, some enthusiasts continue to regard them -as mysterious, and thus help perpetuate the myth that the “saucers” are -actually spaceships from other planets, busily carrying out a patrol of -the earth. - -This saucer myth owes an unacknowledged debt to Charles Fort, a -talented reporter, writer, and self-appointed gadfly of science. With -a strong curiosity about the world of nature but without training -in the disciplines of research, Fort liked to challenge scientists -in general and astronomers in particular with tales of “impossible” -happenings culled from books of folklore, old journals, and newspapers. -He mistrusted orthodox knowledge because, he believed, it smugly damned -to oblivion all reports of marvels that it could not explain: pyrogenic -persons; rains of fish, frogs, and stones; accounts of telepathy, -teleportation, the vanishing of human beings, luminous objects in the -sky. Although he never claimed that he believed the stories himself, -Fort enjoyed collecting them and before his death in 1932 had completed -four volumes of these anecdotes. - -Science-fiction writers have found an inexhaustible mine of ideas in -_The Book of the Damned, New Lands, Lo!_, and _Wild Talents_, which -also provide the chief elements of the saucer myth: - -“Unknown, luminous things, or beings, have often been seen, sometimes -close to this earth, and sometimes high in the sky. It may be -that some of them were living things that occasionally come from -somewhere else in our existence, but that others were lights on the -vessels of explorers, or voyagers, from somewhere else.”[I-1] These -extraterrestrials may have been in communication with earthmen for many -years, Fort suggested, and they may sometimes kidnap and carry away -human beings. - - -_UFO Reports and the Air Force_ - -Most flying-saucer reports have come from reliable citizens who have -seen something extraordinary, something they do not understand. -Genuinely puzzled, they often report the incident to the nearest Air -Force base. The evaluation of such cases is the responsibility of the -United States Air Force. Since the beginning of the saucer scare in -1947, the chief investigating agency has been that at Wright-Patterson -Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, and has borne a succession of -names--Project Sign, Project Grudge, Project Blue Book, and the Aerial -Phenomena Group of the Aerospace Technical Intelligence Center, -usually known as ATIC. Until recently this group operated under the -jurisdiction of the Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence. On July 1, -1961, it was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Air Force Systems -Command. To simplify discussion in this book, however, the group that -investigates unidentified aerial phenomena is generally referred to as -ATIC. - -In military parlance the phrase “unidentified flying object,” -abbreviated as UFO, is used to indicate any air-borne phenomenon that -fails to identify itself to, or to be identified by, trained witnesses -on the ground or in the air who are using visual or radar methods of -observation. Created in the early days of the saucer era, the term UFO -is unfortunately misleading because it seems to imply that the unknown -is a solid material object. Many of them are not. The more dramatic -phrase “flying saucer” is similarly misleading because not all the -unknowns are shaped like a saucer, and not all of them are flying. -Since no one has been able to devise a more accurate brief term that -will apply to all reports in this category, both “UFO” and “flying -saucer” have remained in common use. - -Air Force investigators and scientists have been able to account -for almost every reported “spaceship” as the result of failure to -identify some natural phenomenon. Some were the product of delusion -or deliberate hoaxes. A few remain technically “Unknown” because, -although the probable explanation is obvious, too few facts are -available to permit a positive identification. No such report suggests -the possibility that interplanetary craft are cruising in our skies. - - -_The Scientist’s View_ - -If a spaceship from another planet should ever visit the earth, no one -would be more eager to acknowledge it than our government officials -and our scientists. All governments would feel their responsibility -to protect the human race if necessary, and to establish diplomatic -relations with the alien race if possible. The scientists would want to -study, analyze, and try to understand the nature of both the ship and -its occupants. - -Many persons, sincerely believing that flying saucers do exist, berate -the investigator who denies their reality and characterize him as -stupid, willfully obtuse, or intellectually dishonest because he does -not accept the saucer reports at face value but weighs them by the same -methods most of us use in weighing evidence in everyday life. When told -there’s a horse in the bathtub, for example, the sensible man realizes -that the alleged visitation, while not impossible, is extremely -improbable. Therefore he does not immediately begin speculating on the -color of the horse, where it might have come from, what its purpose -may be, and whether it will wreck the bathroom. Instead he adopts the -scientific method and first goes to find out whether the horse is -really there. - -Like Fort, some flying-saucer believers are consciously or -unconsciously antagonistic to the scientific method and resent its -restrictions as a child objects to discipline. Suggesting that a -strictly logical approach deprives us of valuable truths about the -nature of the universe, and bluntly asserting that present-day -physicists and astronomers have closed their minds to the possibility -of new knowledge, these enthusiasts imply that we should require less -rigorous proof for the reality of saucers than for other types of -physical phenomena. - -Because so many amateur investigators have misunderstood, -misrepresented, and condemned the scientists’ attitude, the authors of -this book (asking the indulgence of their colleagues) will briefly -outline the principles a researcher ordinarily applies to the study of -any new problem--the nature of radioactivity, the cause of a disease, -or the origin of flying saucers. - - -_The Question of “Evidence”_ - -Most physicists, chemists, biologists, and astronomers will agree -that life in some form probably exists in other parts of the galaxy. -These other life forms, if they exist, may or may not have a kind of -intelligence similar to our own; if they have, we might or might not -be able to recognize it. Such speculations, while fascinating, lie -entirely in the realm of theory. They are not facts and do not provide -the slightest support to the often stated corollary that intelligent -creatures do live on other planets and frequently visit the earth. - -In approaching the spacecraft hypothesis, the scientist asks first: -What facts are we trying to account for? And second: Does the -spacecraft theory account for these facts better than the normal -explanations that are already available? After studying hundreds of UFO -reports, however, he concludes that much of the startling “proof” that -saucers are spacecraft is merely inference. Of the established facts, -none requires a new theory to account for it; and no evidence exists -that even faintly suggests, to the expert, that interplanetary visitors -are involved. - -In the study of UFO phenomena this question of “evidence” is crucial. -The careful investigator tries always to distinguish sharply between an -observed fact, which is evidence, and an interpretation of that fact, -which is not evidence no matter how reasonable it may seem. - -As a simple analogy, consider this situation: A man is sitting in his -living room late at night; the rest of the family have gone to bed. -Suddenly he is startled by a loud noise somewhere upstairs. Trying to -account for the noise, he thinks of various possible causes--a burglar, -the “settling” of the house, a mouse in the wall, someone dropping a -shoe, the wind rattling a door, the sonic boom from a distant plane. -If, without having further information, he decides that any one of -these is the true cause, he is accepting a guess as though it were a -fact. The real cause of the noise may be one of these or it may be -something else that he hasn’t even thought of. - -Amateur investigators of UFOs publish many reports which they -characterize as absolute proof that spaceships exist. The expert, -analyzing the same reports, finds no proof at all because the actual -facts and the interpretations of the witnesses are hopelessly confused. -An early UFO case provides a typical example. - -According to Air Force records[I-2], on the morning of December 6, -1952, a B-29 bomber was over the Gulf of Mexico returning from a -training mission. At 5:25 A.M. the student radar operator, using an -uncalibrated set, observed four bright blips (radar jargon for bright -spots on a radarscope; such a spot indicates the presence of an object -reflecting the radar pulses, but does not reveal the nature or shape -of the object). The blips were apparently returns from objects about -twenty miles away, in no specific group, which rapidly moved off the -scope. Similar groups of fast-moving blips appeared at intervals during -a period of about five minutes, and appeared also on two auxiliary -radarscopes. After the first set was calibrated, the blips reappeared; -none was observed after 5:35 A.M. From the radar data estimates of size -and distance were made; calculations based on these estimates indicated -a probable speed of 5000 to 9000 miles an hour. During the ten-minute -period two visual observations were made, lasting about three seconds, -which bore no obvious relation to the radar observations: at the right -of the plane one crewman saw a single blue-white streak going from -front to rear under the wing, and another crewman saw two flashes of -blue-white light. - -An explanation of the incident was not found immediately, and ATIC at -first classified it as an Unknown. Some saucer enthusiasts interpreted -the facts to mean that several groups of saucers had been in the area, -machines flying so fast that they were visible only as blue-white -streaks, whose presence was confirmed by radar. These conclusions were -merely deductions from fact, not observed facts. The radarscope is -not a camera and does not, at least at present, picture the shape or -physical structure of the phenomenon it reports; it shows only spots of -light that change position and size. Similarly, the blue-white streaks -were mere flashes of light without size or shape. - -In a later study of the evidence, the Air Force experts recognized -this incident as one of false targets on radar (see _Chapter_ VIII). -The radar phantoms may have been caused by beacon returns triggered -by another radar; by variations in the atmosphere; or, if “ducting” -conditions existed, by reflections from objects that were far beyond -the normal range of the radar set. The blue-white flashes had no -relation to the radar returns and were probably meteors; the date -corresponded with the beginning of the annual Geminid shower (see -_Chapter_ V). - -This Gulf of Mexico incident is neither complicated nor puzzling. We -mention it chiefly to illustrate why the saucer enthusiasts so often -disagree with the conclusions reached by the Air Force experts. The -amateur assumes that the instrument operated faultlessly and detected a -solid object; he uses these assumptions to interpret the data, uses the -interpretation as fact, and by this “bootstrap” process deludes himself -into thinking he has proved what he assumed in the first place. - - -_Various Types of UFO_ - -A biologist trying to identify a group of unusual animals which are -said to represent a new species begins by collecting all possible -information about their appearance and behavior. After he has -determined their typical size, shape, color, mode of reproduction, -manner of locomotion, etc., he compares these characteristics with -those of animals of known species and eventually classifies the strange -specimens. In a similar way the professional investigator of UFO -phenomena begins by asking the question: What is a typical unidentified -flying object? - -The published reports comprise a heterogeneous collection of facts, -fiction, and guesses. The investigator must first separate and discard -accounts that are obvious hoaxes or delusions. There are many of -these. The remaining material he divides into two classes. The first -includes statements made by competent, careful witnesses, describing -what they have seen and heard--for example, “I saw a brilliant light -moving swiftly without sound.” The second class includes statements of -opinion or belief about the thing seen--for example, “The strange light -obviously was controlled by intelligence.” Putting aside this second -class of material for the time being, he looks at the information in -the first and immediately faces an awkward conclusion: apparently no -“typical” flying saucer exists. - - -_Descriptions of UFOs_ - -No two reports describe exactly the same kind of UFO. There are dozens -of types of saucers, resembling each other as little as turnips do -comets. Hoping to find some consistent pattern, the investigator opens -his notebook and starts listing the data. - -_Shape_--The flying saucer varies greatly in shape (see Figure 1). -At different times and places it may be a circular disk like a -saucer, often with a small protrusion in the center like the knob on -a tea-kettle lid; elliptical or bean-shaped like a flattened sphere; -a circular base supporting a dome-like superstructure; a sphere -surrounded by a central platform, like Saturn in its rings; long and -thin like a cigar; a tapered sphere like a teardrop; spindle-shaped, -with or without knobs on the ends; or a double- or triple-decked form -like a stack of plates. - -_Size_--The saucer varies greatly in size. Estimated diameters range -from 20 or 30 feet to several thousand. While under observation it may -instantaneously increase or decrease in size. - -_Color_--The saucer varies greatly in color. It may be white, black, -gray, red, blue, green, pink, yellow, silver; may be luminous or dull; -may be a solid color; may be circled by a central band of different -color; may display flashing lights of various colors. It may change -color or luminosity while being observed. - -_Motion_--The saucer displays a wide variety of motions. It may travel -very slowly; very fast, approaching the speed of light; at jet speed; -at meteoric speed; may hover motionless over one place. At any speed it -can instantaneously change velocity and direction of motion--can move -horizontally, vertically, toward the observer, away from the observer, -in a straight path, a zigzag, a spiral. Like the Cheshire cat, it can -vanish instantly or slowly fade away. - -_Means of propulsion_--Unknown. Some saucers move in complete silence; -others produce noises: a hiss, a whistle, a roar, a thunderclap, or a -detonation like a sonic boom. - -[Illustration: _Figure 1._ Shapes of various reported UFOs.] - -_Incidence_--Saucers may appear at any hour of the day or night, -but they appear most frequently in the hours before and after sunset, -and before and after sunrise. Their numbers may suddenly increase at -certain places and certain times. The objects can appear singly, in -random groups, in groups showing a geometrical pattern. A single object -may split and multiply into a group, or a group may merge into one. -Saucers almost always appear in the air, rarely on the earth’s surface -or in bodies of water. They almost never come within touching distance -of the observer. The length of their stay varies greatly, from about -two seconds to two or three hours. - -_Structure_--Unknown. A saucer may be visible or invisible to the -observer; visible to the human eye but not to the camera or radar; -visible to the camera or radar but not to the eye. Some obey the laws -of gravity and inertia, others do not. - -_Purpose_--Unknown. No officials in the government, the press, -the churches, or the universities have received any attempt at -communication. No saucer has produced intelligible visible, audible, or -radio signals. - -Long before finishing this tabulation the investigator realizes that -he is not dealing with one thing but with many. No single phenomenon -could possibly display such infinite variety. However, before he -starts trying to classify the descriptions and to explain them, he -takes a look at the second class of material--the conclusions offered -by saucer enthusiasts. Leaving the realm of observation for that of -interpretation, he is suddenly catapulted into a world of fantasy. - - -_A “Baedeker’s Guide” to Saucerdom_ - -One of the commonest themes in science fiction is that of parallel -universes--a number of nearly identical worlds coexisting in alternate -space-time continua. Occasionally, at a vulnerable spot, the barrier -between two of these worlds will dissolve so that they overlap near -the point of contact. After such an accident a man may find himself -unhappily living two lives at once, identical in some ways but so -different in others that if one is real, the other cannot be. Until the -break is repaired and the incompatible worlds are safely separated once -more, the man exists in a state of desperate confusion and performs -agonizing mental acrobatics, trying to maintain a foothold in both -worlds until he can decide which one is valid. - -From the “damned” phenomena collected by Charles Fort, plus the legends -of Atlantis, Mu, and Lemuria, flying-saucer addicts have constructed -a multiplicity of such alternate worlds. Although they differ in -minor ways, all are in direct conflict with the real world known to -science. Let us ignore, for the moment, the descriptions given by -the “contactees” (_Chapter_ X) and consider only the beliefs and/or -theories offered by serious proponents of the interplanetary theory -and publicized by writers such as Donald E. Keyhoe[I-3, I-4, I-5] -Aimé Michel[I-6], and Morris K. Jessup[I-7]. A “Baedeker’s Guide” to -saucerdom based solely on statements and speculations in the books -published by these investigators would portray a fantastic universe:[A] - -[A] Following common practice in scientific discussion, we originally -included the specific sources of important and/or controversial ideas -described in this book and, for maximum accuracy, often used the -original phrasing of the several authors involved. In this and certain -other sections, however, we have been forced to abandon the more -scholarly method of presentation because one author (Major Donald E. -Keyhoe) refused permission to quote from his works. - -“In saucerdom, alien spacecraft continually visit the earth and have -done so for centuries. Constructed and controlled by intelligent -extraterrestrial beings, the craft perhaps come from secret bases -on artificial earth satellites; on the moon; on Mars; on Venus; on -Jupiter; perhaps on the planets supposed to be orbiting the binary -stars 61 Cygni and 70 Ophiuchi; or from planets supposed to be in orbit -around the stars Tau Ceti and Epsilon Eridani, about eleven light-years -distant from earth. Radio transmitters serving as beacons for space -navigation may exist on both Venus and Jupiter. - -“These spacecraft can perform maneuvers that, on earth, are possible -only for rays of light. They fly at speeds of many thousands of miles -an hour, can reverse direction instantaneously at any speed, ascend or -descend vertically, and hover motionless in the air. They accomplish -these feats perhaps by using the power of cosmic rays and by generating -and manipulating artificial gravitational fields, which they could also -use to prevent the transmission of sound waves and to become invisible. - -“The extraterrestrial visitors may be explorers sent to study the -earth, descendants of a race living thousands of light-years away from -the solar system. They may be the ancestors of the human race, which -itself is a remnant of a colony established on earth thousands of years -ago and then abandoned. More than 300,000 years ago the inhabitants of -earth had found the secret of space travel, and human beings mapped -the earth by an aerial survey at least 5000 years ago. It is also -possible that these craft come not from space but from time; they may -be earthmen of the future who have traveled backward through time to -explore their own past. - -“The purpose of these visitors is still unknown. They shun close -contact with human beings, rarely if ever land their ships, and never -allow close-up photographs, perhaps because they are afraid of human -savagery or are afraid of starting a panic. Nevertheless they attempt -to signal to earthmen in various ways: they have caused the production -of gigantic letters of the alphabet [U and Z] on earth radarscopes; -from a material that radiates light they have built an enormous letter -W, spanning more than 1000 miles on the surface of Mars; they have sent -out wireless signals in Morse code to represent the letter S. They may -occasionally abduct earthmen in order to use them as language teachers. - -“Although these visitors are probably not hostile to human beings, -they often manifest their presence in destructive ways. They cause -many airplane crashes; seize and carry off ships, human beings, and -airplanes; destroy flocks of birds; interfere with the operation -of radio, TV, gasoline and electric motors; pelt the earth with -rocks, metal, and strange organic substances; create loud noises and -detonations; damage the windshields of cars; set fire to highways; hurl -various types of missiles; drop chunks of ice; cause storms; and cause -radioactive rain. - -“One of the most peculiar features of saucerdom is the role played by -government officials and scientists who, knowing the space visitors are -real, yet deny their existence and unite in a gigantic conspiracy to -deceive the public.” - - * * * * * - -These excerpts from a hypothetical Baedeker have summarized the -ideas publicized by the most literate and most persuasive advocates -of the saucer theory. The chapters that follow will examine certain -flying-saucer cases. As the discussion continues and is able to account -for specific UFOs in terms of normal physical phenomena, these -anarchistic worlds of saucerdom will gradually dissolve and merge with -reality as we know it--a world that holds many mysteries but is still -subject to the laws of nature. - -[I-1] Fort, Charles. _Lo!_ New York: Claude H. Kendall, 1931. - -[I-2] Air Force Files. - -[I-3] Keyhoe, D. E. _The Flying Saucer Conspiracy._ New York: Henry -Holt & Co., 1955. - -[I-4] ---- _Flying Saucers from Outer Space._ New York: Henry Holt & -Co., 1953. - -[I-5] ---- _Flying Saucers: Top Secret._ New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, -1960. - -[I-6] Michel, A. _The Truth about Flying Saucers._ New York: Criterion -Books, Inc., 1956. - -[I-7] Jessup, M. K. _The Case for the UFO_. New York: Citadel Press, -1955. - - - - -_Chapter_ II - -LO! - - -The overture to the _Flying Saucer_ opera took place in the summer of -1947, presenting the main themes that were to develop with fantastic -variations during the fifteen-year-long drama that followed: mysterious -apparitions in the sky, alleged interplanetary visitors, government -investigators, growing public excitement, civilians who zealously -encouraged the hysteria, and, as a climax, an elaborate hoax that -produced material “evidence” to prove the existence of spaceships. - - -_Arnold’s Nine Disks_ - -The first man to report a flying saucer was a veteran pilot named -Kenneth Arnold, representative of a fire-control equipment firm in -Boise, Idaho. On the afternoon of June 24 Arnold was flying a private -plane on his way from Chehalis to Yakima, Washington. Above the Cascade -Mountains at about 9200 feet, he noticed a series of bright flashes in -the sky off to his left. Looking for the cause, he saw what appeared -to be a formation of peculiar aircraft approaching Mount Rainier at -fantastic speed. There were nine very bright, disk-shaped objects which -he estimated to be twenty to twenty-five miles away, forty-five to -fifty feet long, and traveling at a speed of almost 1700 miles an hour. -Talking with a reporter that evening, Arnold said that the objects -“flew like a saucer would if you skipped it across the water.” In a -later report to Air Force Intelligence he stated: “They flew very close -to the mountaintops, directly south to southeast down the hogback of -the range, flying like geese in a diagonal, chainlike line, as if they -were linked together.... They were flat like a piepan and so shiny -they reflected the sun like a mirror.”[II-1] - -Newspapers all over the country picked up the story and printed it -under headlines describing flying pies, flying piepans, and flying -saucers. Alert to the possibility that the objects might have been a -new type of aircraft of Russian origin, investigators from Military -Intelligence interviewed Arnold and officials from Air Technical -Intelligence requested a report. - -No one doubted Arnold’s word. He was an experienced pilot, a respected -citizen, and a careful observer. Nevertheless his description showed -some inconsistencies that made it difficult to decide what the nine -disks really were. If they had actually been forty-five or fifty feet -long, they must have been much closer than he thought; objects that -size would not have been visible at a distance of twenty to twenty-five -miles. However, if the estimated distance was correct, then in order to -be visible the objects must have been much larger, at least 210 feet -long. One of the estimates must be wrong--but which one? Until that -question was settled, the computed speed was meaningless, since to -estimate the velocity of a moving object an observer must know either -its true distance or its true size. Even after a careful study, Air -Force investigators could not identify the disks; they might have been -clouds, a mirage, or some kind of aircraft, but no definite answer was -possible from the evidence available. - -Predictably, after so much publicity, a rash of similar sightings -broke out all over the country and continued for the rest of the -summer. During the hot months of the “silly season,” newspapers are -traditionally hospitable to tales of barnyard freaks, sea serpents, -and man-bitten dogs. Such stories were now shoved aside as people in -every state began to report unorthodox objects sailing through the -sky--flying disks, flying dimes, flying ice-cream cones, flying shoe -heels, and flying hubcaps. Seeing saucers became a national pastime, -but Arnold, who had reported the strange objects in all good faith, -resented the implied ridicule. Deluged with telephone calls and mail, -he resolved to keep silent in the future even if he should happen to -see a ten-story building flying through the air. - -In spite of the publicity, the flying-saucer scare would probably have -died with the first frost of autumn but for the efforts of a talented -writer, editor, and publisher of science fiction, Raymond A. Palmer. -Among the many letters Arnold received was one from Palmer, then editor -of _Amazing Stories_. Tired of being laughed at, Arnold found the tone -of “sincere interest” so appealing that he answered the letter[II-2]. -After a second letter a week later, he changed his mind about keeping -silent and agreed to sell his story for publication. - -Under the title, “I _Did_ See the Flying Disks,” the article appeared -in the first issue of a new magazine, _Fate_, which published “true -stories of the strange, the unusual, the unknown.”[II-3] Although -Arnold was not a professional writer, he had the assistance of an -expert and produced a vivid, clearly written story--Palmer had had -unusual experience in helping fledgling authors tell their tales. -Interesting differences between Arnold’s original statements and those -in the magazine version demonstrate how much he must have owed to -editorial help. Without it, he might not have included certain colorful -details that he had apparently overlooked earlier. In his original -reports, for example, he said that he had at first supposed the disks -to be some type of experimental aircraft; in the magazine version he -added that, even at the time, the objects had given him “an eerie -feeling.” In the intervening months he had also remembered more about -their shape (see Figure 2). He no longer described them as saucerlike, -flat and shiny like piepans. Instead, a drawing based on his revised -account shows an object like the crescent moon with a sharp protrusion -on the inner, concave side and a dark, mottled circle marking the -center of the top surface. Furthermore, he told the readers of _Fate_, -one object had been darker than the others and of a slightly different -form--a detail he had forgotten to mention to reporters, to military -officials, to his friends, or even to his wife. - -Arnold had never been much of a reader and was not a science-fiction -fan, but his interests were obviously widening. The next two issues -of _Fate_ carried other articles under his name. Palmer’s growing -influence is suggested by the titles: “Are Space Visitors Here?”[II-4] -and “Phantom Lights of Nevada.”[II-5] - -[Illustration: _Figure 2._ Arnold’s flying saucers. Left, as first -described; right, as later sketched.] - - -_The Great Shaver Mystery_ - -Ray Palmer lays claim to being “the _first_ flying saucer -investigator”[II-6], although he frankly admits his debt to the -writings of Charles Fort. Any full account of the saucer era must -include the names of other enthusiasts such as Adamski, Bethurum, -Scully, Cramp, Keyhoe, Jessup, Michel, and Wilkins, but none merits so -much credit for keeping the saucers flying as does Palmer. He not only -opened the pages of his magazines to the first saucer reports but also, -in the beginning, paid the witnesses for their stories. - -In 1947 Palmer was the editor of _Amazing Stories_ and _Fantastic -Adventures_, two of the great magazines of science fiction in which -stories of spaceships and interplanetary travel have long been -commonplace. For several years he had been hinting to readers of these -magazines that alien spaceships might _actually_ be cruising in our -skies, but _Fate_ was the first magazine that seriously promoted the -idea. No man was better qualified to glimpse the dramatic possibilities -of flying saucers. Born in Wisconsin in 1910, Palmer had begun reading -_Amazing Stories_ soon after it started publication in 1926. Turning to -writing, he showed the remarkable persistence that has characterized -his life. Although he received 100 rejections before he sold his second -story, he stubbornly kept on until he not only achieved success as an -author but also, in 1938, became managing editor of _Amazing Stories_ -for the Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. Under Palmer’s guidance, “... -the entertainment side of science fiction took over.... Gone were the -ponderous styles, the verbiage, the highly technical explanations of -what mattered little in the first place. The stories took on pace and -excitement, the characters in them were faced with human problems, the -dialogue was realistic....”[II-7] - -Alert to the tastes of his readers, Palmer carried the magazine to new -heights. Many science-fiction fans (including the present authors) -still remember that golden age around 1940 when _Amazing_ came out -every month with 146 pages full of startling, fantastic, wonderful -stories of how life might be on other worlds and in other galaxies. - -In January 1944 began the publishing drama that for a time changed the -direction of _Amazing_ and heralded the advent of flying saucers. The -“Discussions” department that month included a letter captioned “An -Ancient Language?” which introduced what came to be known both as the -Great Shaver Mystery and the Great Shaver Hoax. Signed “S. Shaver,” the -letter began: - -“Sirs: Am sending you this in hopes you will insert in an issue to keep -it from dying with me. It would arouse a lot of discussion.”[II-8] - -It did indeed. The letter announced the discovery that words and -syllables of the ancient Atlantean language still exist in English -today; hence the legends of Atlantis must be true and a “wiser race -than modern man” must once have existed on the earth. - -Richard Sharpe Shaver was then living in Barto, Pennsylvania, and -operated a welding machine in a war plant. In writing to thank the -editor for publishing his letter, he enclosed a manuscript called -“Warning to Future Man” which purported to give his memories of life -in the fabled continent of Lemuria. The information had been preserved -in “thought records” hidden in secret caves. By “telaug,” a kind of -audio-visual telepathy, he had begun to remember his forgotten past -when, through the noise of his welding machine, he heard voices. After -visiting Shaver and probing his “memories,” Palmer bought the story. He -didn’t like the way it was written, however, so he rewrote it, added -material that expanded it to three times its original length[II-9], -changed the title to “I Remember Lemuria,” and started advertising it -well in advance of publication as a _true_ story: - -“Twelve thousand years ago the Lemurians and the Atlanteans disappeared -from the Earth. Where and why did they go?”[II-10] This story would -show that Newton and Einstein were all wrong, Palmer promised, and -would reveal new concepts of gravity, the nature of matter, and the -foundation for physical mathematics. - -Thus began the controversy that rocked the world of science fiction. -Since Palmer has affirmed that “Flying saucers are a part of the Shaver -Mystery--integrally so”[II-11], we turn to the old files of _Amazing -Stories_ to trace their development. - -The first of the Shaver series, “I Remember Lemuria” appeared in March -1945[II-12], along with “Mantong, The Language of Lemuria,” an article -signed by both Shaver and Palmer, and other stories followed quickly -in succeeding issues of _Amazing_. The basic themes were shopworn--a -jumble of Fortean ideas, Plato’s fables, and mystic science--but when -brightened by Palmer’s magic pencil, they seemed fresh and exciting: -The earth had an ancient past, now forgotten. The lost continents of -Atlantis, Lemuria, and Mu had been colonized many thousands of years -ago by superior beings from another planet who could travel through -space by utilizing forces unknown to present-day earthmen. Eventually -these noble aliens had been forced to abandon the earth to escape evil -radiations coming from our sun, but they had left descendants who still -lived on earth in concealment in great subterranean cities that could -be entered through certain caves. The underground dwellers in the -hidden world had retained all the secret powers of their ancestors. -They could communicate by thought transference, could speak to earthmen -by mental “voices,” and could travel on beams of light because they -understood the true nature of gravity and magnetism. These creatures -were divided into two opposing groups, one good and one evil. The -dero (detrimental robots) were the bad guys and they caused all the -unexplained accidents and misfortunes that happen to human beings. -The tero (integrative robots) were the good guys; they warned earthmen -of danger and tried to protect them from the destructive forces of the -dero. - -Reader response to these fantasies was phenomenal. Fan mail zoomed from -40 or 50 to 2500 letters a month[II-13], and the magazine’s circulation -increased by some 50,000. As the records of “racial memory” continued -to appear, connoisseurs of good science fiction began to cry “Hoax!” -but their protests had no effect. Thousands of new readers were buying -the magazine and many of them were beginning to recall and report -“memories” of their own. Since the “Discussions” columns could not -take care of so many letters, Palmer opened a new department, “Report -from the Forgotten Past”[II-14], and urged the readers to send in -their personal experiences with the hidden world. Did they ever hear -strange voices? Receive mysterious messages through the air? Suspect -that they were being affected by strange rays? Feel that they had -been put on earth for some special mission? Have dreams that they -could not explain? Have a strong urge to explore caves? Have memories -of other lives? The editor was eager to learn of all such incidents. -Through the Shaver stories, Palmer was already promoting the idea that -interplanetary craft do visit the earth: - -“There are many mysteries of the past that have intrigued investigators -to an almost unbearable point.... What were the glories of Babylon? -What truth is there in the Chinese legend of being the people of the -Moon, and of coming to Earth in rocket ships? What was the mystery -metal of the Lemurians, orichalcum? What was the secret of their -airships that walked on beams of light?”[II-12] - -When one correspondent informed him that space travel was possible “if -one travels through curves but not through angles,” Palmer replied, -“Your editor is sincere--and he’d like to know everything you know.... -For instance, please explain this space-travel business--about curves -and not angles.”[II-15] - -For more than three years the columns of _Amazing_ continued to assert, -not as fiction but as fact, that interplanetary travel is a present -reality and that the laws of physics are not valid. In a mystic mumbo -jumbo the readers were told that the velocity of light, for example, -was not the ultimate speed: - -“Light speed is due to ‘escape velocity’ on the sun, which is not -large. This speed is a constant to our measurement because the friction -of exd, which fills all space, holds down any increase unless there -is more impetus. The escape velocity of light from a vaster sun than -ours is higher, but once again exd slows the light speed down to its -constant by friction, so that when it reaches the vicinity of our -sun, no appreciable difference is to be noted. A body can travel at -many times the exd constant, under additional impetus, such as rocket -explosions. A ship whose weight is reduced to a very little by reverse -gravity beam can attain a great speed with a very small rocket.”[II-12] - -Devotees of reasonable science fiction (who include many leading -scientists) were writing angrily to Palmer, protesting that the Shaver -hoax had gone too far, but their letters seemed only to amuse him: - -“There have been some odd reactions, one of them being a promise by a -fan group to ‘expose’ our ‘hoax’ (which was a compliment, by the way, -because it was termed the ‘biggest ever attempted in modern science -fiction history’). We are waiting for this expose, [_sic_] with -interest--because we are curious to know how a hoax which is not a hoax -can be exposed as a hoax. We realize that a lot of our readers find it -difficult to believe that we ourselves believe one single word of what -Mr. Shaver tells us in his stories, but we’ll keep on presenting the -evidence as it comes in, and you can judge for yourself.”[II-14] - -Readers continued to object and many stopped buying the magazine, but -Palmer persisted with ambiguous hints that spaceships were really here. -A full year before the first flying-saucer report he wrote: - -“If you don’t think space ships visit the earth regularly, as in this -story [‘Cult of the Witch Queen’], then the files of Charles Fort and -your editor’s own files are something you should see.... And if you -think responsible parties in world governments are ignorant of the -fact of space ships visiting earth, you just don’t think the way we -do.”[II-16] - -In succeeding months he became more and more explicit. In September -1946 he told one correspondent, “As for space ships, ... personally we -believe these ships do visit the earth. You, or any observer, would be -inclined to call it something else if you did see one.”[II-15] In the -spring of 1947 he replied to a reader who asked for concrete evidence -that Shaver’s stories were true: “... the mystery is not just ‘are -there caves with dero and tero in them?’ but it has to do with space -ships, other inhabited worlds, and so on.”[II-17] - -In June 1947, the month the first flying saucers were reported, the -issue of _Amazing Stories_ was an addict’s dream[II-18]. The cover -featured “The Shaver Mystery, the Most Sensational True Story Ever -Told”; the four stories, 90,000 words, were all under the byline of -Richard S. Shaver. The entire magazine--editorial comments, discussion -columns, and most of the feature articles--was devoted to the -supernatural world of Shaver. - -But the end was near. _Amazing_ published its last Shaver story, “Gods -of Venus,” in the summer of 1948; as far as the magazine was concerned, -the mystery was dead. - -Who or what killed it? One version says that the publisher, William B. -Ziff, ordered the series stopped because so many fans had quit buying -the magazine. Palmer himself has given various explanations. He stopped -the stories, he said at first, when he realized that such material -did not really belong in a fiction magazine. Later he explained that -he killed the mystery because he intended to go into publishing for -himself and didn’t want to leave his successor to handle “this hot -potato.”[II-19] Later still, he implied that publishing the stories -was dangerous; that he had learned too much about the “hidden world,” -the sinister forces responsible for the plane crash that followed -the Tacoma hoax. Said Palmer, “I wanted no more dead men on my -hands.”[II-11] - - -_The Maury Island Fragments_ - -The Maury Island Mystery, a complex and eventually tragic affair, -occurred near Tacoma, Washington, less than 100 miles from the place -where Arnold had sighted the nine disks. In this mystery, too, Palmer -was involved. According to their story, two harbor patrolmen named -Harold A. Dahl and Fred L. Crisman on June 31 had observed a group -of six flying disks that hovered over their boat near Maury Island -and jammed their radio when they tried to notify the authorities. One -of the disks had seemed to be disabled, had showered down lavalike -metallic fragments that damaged the boat and killed the dog on board; -the disks had then disappeared but the fragments remained as proof -of the visit. The men also claimed to have taken some pictures that -showed the six objects but were fogged as though by radiation. Back on -shore, they had not telephoned the newspapers nor had they notified any -government officials. Instead, they had mailed a box of the fragments -to Ray Palmer, to prove that they had actually seen an accident to a -flying saucer[II-20]. - -Crisman was no stranger to _Amazing Stories_. A science-fiction fan, -he apparently had accepted the Shaver stories as literal truth. More -than a year before the Maury Island episode he had written to Palmer, -warning him that the knowledge contained in the Shaver stories was too -dangerous to print. Identifying himself as an ex-Air Force pilot who -had flown the Hump, Crisman explained that when he was in Burma, he had -been exploring a cave when a dero attacked him with a mysterious ray -that made a hole the size of a dime in his arm. Palmer had kept up the -correspondence[II-21] and, some months later, received a telephone call -from Crisman, then in Texas: for $250, said Crisman, he would descend -into a cave and take some actual pictures of the mysterious underground -machines that Shaver had described. The result of this offer is not -known, but in July 1947 Palmer received another letter from Crisman; he -had witnessed an accident to a flying saucer and was sending a box of -the fragments as proof[II-22]. - -Palmer considered buying the story for _Fate_, but first he asked -Arnold, living close to the scene, to investigate the tale. Arnold -agreed. Thus the first man to report flying saucers became also a -victim of the first flying-saucer hoax. - -With an advance of $200 for expenses, Arnold flew to Tacoma and into -a nightmare of mystery. The two men were elusive, their story full of -discrepancies, their manner evasive. Wondering at first whether the -affair was a hoax, Arnold finally attributed the strange behavior of -the men to their fear of hostile saucers. Alarmed, he called in the -help of Army Intelligence. Two officers arrived from Hamilton Air Force -Base, California, and made a careful investigation. They found that -Dahl and Crisman were not “harbor patrolmen” but salvagers of floating -lumber; their boat was scarcely seaworthy and showed no evidence of -major repairs; they couldn’t remember what they had done with the -pictures they mentioned; and although the saucer accident was supposed -to have occurred nearly six weeks earlier, they had never notified -the authorities or even mentioned it to a reporter. The only evidence -offered for the truth of their tale was the collection of “strange” -fragments which were later found to be slag from a local smelter plant. -Similar fragments could be found by the ton on Maury Island[II-20]. - -The officers concluded that they had wasted their time on a flagrant -hoax, but the bewildered Arnold insisted that they take some of the -fragments for analysis. Unhappily, on the way back to the base the -plane crashed and although two passengers parachuted to safety, both -officers were killed. At once fantastic rumors sprang up: that the -Tacoma “disks” had been spaceships, and that the beings who operated -the craft had been forced to arrange the plane crash so that no one -could analyze the fragments of their disabled spaceship. Arnold himself -seemed to believe that the crash had resulted from extraplanetary -sabotage, but investigation showed a more ordinary cause. A burned -exhaust stack had set the left wing afire; the blazing wing had then -broken from the fuselage and torn off the plane’s tail. - -For a time government officials considered placing a charge of fraud -against the two men who had started the unhappy chain of events. After -further questioning, both had admitted that their “sighting” had been a -hoax, planned merely to make their story more salable, but when first -Arnold and then Military Intelligence had entered the picture, the -hoax had simply gotten out of hand. Since the men obviously had never -intended the tragic outcome and were not directly responsible for it, -the idea of prosecution was abandoned[II-1]. - - -_Science Fiction Adopts the Saucers_ - -No longer editor of _Amazing_, Palmer continued to promote the -cause of flying saucers in the pages of _Fate_. During the early -nineteen-fifties, the boom years of science fiction, he started other -magazines--_Search_, _Mystic Universe_, _Other Worlds Science Stories_. -After a time, _Fate_ began to concentrate on tales of the mystic and -occult, while _Other Worlds_ eventually took over the flying-saucer -theme. - -Starting as an orthodox magazine of science fiction, _Other Worlds_ -flourished until the general slump in the market caused it to suspend -publication. Revived after a time, it has undergone several changes -of editorial policy reflected in its changing names: _Other Worlds -Science Stories_, _Flying Saucers from OTHER WORLDS_, _FLYING SAUCERS -from Other Worlds_, _Flying Saucers the Magazine of Space Conquest_, -and, since the spring of 1961 when the magazine became pocket-size, -just _Flying Saucers_. Classic science fiction long ago vanished from -its pages and all articles are “true” accounts of flying saucers and -similar Fortean incidents. - -_Flying Saucers_ is probably unique in modern publishing history. -Issued monthly or bimonthly at a price of thirty-five cents, the -magazine does not pay its authors because, as the editor explains, -“_Flying Saucers_ is _not_ a commercial project.” Published by -Palmer Publications, edited by Palmer, containing liberal amounts of -editorial comment and at least one article by Palmer, a typical issue -in 1960[II-6] contained sixty-six pages and carried a small number of -advertisements for telescopes, binoculars, Rosicrucian and similar -mystic publications. The remaining ads featured books and magazines -issued by Palmer Publications, Amherst, Wisconsin; books issued by -Amherst Press, also of Amherst, Wisconsin; Saucerian Books, published -under the aegis of Gray Barker, a contributing editor to _Flying -Saucers_. “Austrogen,” described as a face cream or clay for skin -ailments, was obtainable from Palmer at a dollar an ounce. Another -ad recommended something (the wording does not specify exactly what, -perhaps a powder?) that helps make good chili. Readers could buy this -too, from Palmer, for a dollar a pound or $3.50 for five pounds. A -combination dandruff remover, itch preventer, and restorer of hair -color personally recommended by Palmer sold for $5.00 a bottle, number -of ounces not specified. - -The dandruff remover was also recommended by Kenneth Arnold, whose -flying disks had started the saucer epidemic. Arnold was advertising -his “World Society of Flying Saucer” which would “hold no meetings, no -minutes, no by-laws, no restrictions or regulations, no records outside -of actual membership, no presidents, no vice-presidents, no secretary, -or board of directors.” For only $5.00 those who joined the society -would receive twelve issues of _Flying Saucers_ (which if ordered from -Palmer Publications would have cost $4.00), plus an official membership -card. Arnold also offered for sale a crescent-shaped lapel pin in solid -silver, supposedly just like the “original” saucers he had sighted in -1947; and, for the ladies, the saucers in pendant form. The addition of -seven-point diamonds was optional. - -The magazine has grown smaller, but its main theme is still flying -saucers, which until recently have been interpreted as interplanetary -vehicles. In December 1959, however,[II-23] Palmer announced in a lead -article that flying saucers were _not_ from outer space after all; -instead, they came from secret earth bases located under the north and -the south poles. The earth is actually shaped like a doughnut, not like -a pear, he says, and has openings at both poles where the saucer people -reside. Whether they are manned by dero or tero he has not said. - -In the autumn of 1962, Arnold entered the arena of politics and was -the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor of Idaho, but lost. -Shaver became a dairy farmer, a Wisconsin neighbor of Palmer’s, but in -science-fiction circles his name will never die. Recently he has been -advertising the sale of alleged pre-Deluge and pre-Ice-Age “art stones” -described as rare, voluptuous, exciting, and usable as ornaments for -wall or mantel, or simply as book ends. - -Palmer has now revived the Shaver Mystery and is reprinting the entire -series in book form “with the fiction removed,” under the general -title of _The Hidden World_. In advertising the new project he stated, -“This magazine concerns flying saucers. Flying saucers are a part -of the Shaver mystery--integrally so.” He abandoned the stories in -_Amazing_, he says, not because an outraged publisher insisted, but -because he believed the stories to be true. “That is the true motive. -I was convinced that not only was there a ‘hidden world,’ but it was -one of immense ramification, and the caves of the dero, flying saucers, -military espionage, the political science of the world, and even some -phases of religion, specifically those of the ‘cult’ variety, were -inextricably linked.” In announcing that he intended to end the secrecy -that had existed for so long, and to tell the truth after seventeen -years of “sugar-coating” the facts, he did not explain exactly why he -feels it is safe to publish the “truth” now, when it was not safe -seventeen years ago. He says only, “... there have been good reasons -for the delay--had it been done from the beginning, the pitfalls that -would have crushed it could not have been avoided.”[II-11] - -At the tenth annual World Science Fiction Convention, held in Chicago -in September 1952, fans and fellow editors awarded to Palmer a bronze -plaque honoring him as a “son of science fiction,”[II-24] a citation he -fully merits. As long as flying saucers continue to make good copy and -sell magazines, Palmer will probably keep them soaring--whether their -home bases are other planets or polar caves. As one of his colleagues -once commented: - -“... in these times of drab and unconvincing falsehood, there is still -something to be thankful for. A Palmer promotion has the touch of -genius. It has zing, sparkle, and true showmanship. It can be spotted a -mile away by the bright lights. The thing to do is sit back and enjoy -it.”[II-19] - - -_Mirage or Wave Clouds?_ - -What did Kenneth Arnold actually see, that June afternoon in 1947? -No absolutely certain answer is possible after so long a time. The -disks were probably a mirage (see Figure 3) in which the peaks of -the mountains seemed to float above the mountain chain[II-25]. An -alternative but much less probable explanation is that he observed -orographic clouds, a type unique to mountainous country, which often -appear to stand more or less motionless and can assume dramatic shapes. -“Grindstone” clouds, shaped like thick, solid disks (see Plate Ia), -are common phenomena in the valleys just east of the Sierra Nevada in -California and in the mountainous regions of Washington, Colorado, -and New Mexico--areas where flying-saucer reports have tended to -concentrate[II-26]. One of the most spectacular types of mountain -cloud, it closely resembles the “_pile d’assiettes_” or “stack of -plates” formation in which the cloud assumes a flat, round shape like -a plate or a saucer, and two or more are piled together in a neat -stack, as in Plate Ib[II-27]. Another picture of a “stack of plates” -(which some observers reported as a hovering flying saucer) was made on -May 31, 1953, near Jindabyna, Snowy Mountains, New South Wales, and -reproduced in _Weather_ in November 1954 Plate 47. The cloud formed -over a tub-shaped depression in the mountains and remained stationary -for more than an hour[II-28]. - -[Illustration: _Figure 3._ Mirage of mountain peaks. Top, normal view -of mountain chain; bottom, mirage in which some of the peaks seem to be -detached and above the peaks, like saucers.] - -Such clouds reflect the undulations of lee waves formed in the -atmosphere when stable currents of air flow over obstacles such as -hills or mountains. An up-and-down wave motion may be impressed upon -the air, provided that temperature and wind conditions are suitable. -As the air describes its wavelike path, it alternately warms and -cools, the warming taking place as it sinks into the wave trough and -the cooling as it ascends to the wave crest. If the air is very dry, -the undulating current will not be visible to the eye, although the -updrafts and downdrafts will readily be felt by aircraft that chance -to pass through them. On the other hand, if the air before entering the -wave is moist enough, the cooling in the wave crest will cause water -droplets to condense and a cloud to appear. - -In the vicinity of an isolated peak the cloud may assume the form of a -cap covering the summit, or it may be displaced slightly downwind and -resemble a lens or disk. Not infrequently a series of lenticular clouds -will appear, trailing downwind at regular intervals of a few miles. -Although these wave clouds are usually stationary, they sometimes move -at great speed, especially when the air temperature is changing rapidly. - -From a study of a remarkable photograph made in 1956, R. J. Reed of -the University of Washington has offered the suggestion that the disks -Arnold saw were actually wave clouds in rapid motion. - -On the afternoon of December 29, 1956, a photographer for the Seattle -_Times_ was on top of Pigtail Peak near White Pass, Washington (not -far from the area where Arnold’s nine disks had appeared), taking ski -pictures for the rotogravure section of the Sunday _Times_. The weather -was beautiful. Down in the pass temperatures hovered near freezing, -but the slopes were warmed by sunlight that filtered down through thin -cirrus clouds and raised the temperature to a balmy fifty degrees. Just -at sunset a strange object suddenly appeared off toward the northeast -horizon. Several skiers urged the photographer to take a picture of the -“flying saucer,” but since it was still far away and indistinct, he -waited. The first object, now followed by a second one, moved rapidly -toward Mount Rainier, began to sharpen in outline, and both were soon -so clearly visible that he was able to snap his unusual picture. The -photograph shows two apparently solid, disklike objects, flattened, -brilliantly white but dark at the bottom, apparently linked together by -white streamers, skimming toward the mountain peak (Plate Ia). - -Recognizing the close resemblance between the objects in the photograph -and those Arnold described, Reed made a full analysis of the weather -conditions prevailing at the time the picture was taken. From -radiosonde data provided by the Seattle-Tacoma Airport, he obtained -measurements of the size of the clouds, their height above the -mountains, wind directions, and temperature and humidity at mountain -height and cloud height. Obviously the pattern of weather conditions -that prevailed that day was suitable for the formation of saucerlike -clouds. - -To test the hypothesis that Arnold also had seen such clouds, he then -obtained records of the weather data for June 24, 1947, to determine -whether atmospheric conditions on the two dates were basically similar. -“To be comparable, winds would have to be blowing from the north or -northwest in Mr. Arnold’s case since the objects were sighted to the -south and southeast of the peak. The air would have to be dry at lower -elevations and moisture would have to be spreading in at higher levels. -An inspection of the historical maps reveals that, indeed, all these -conditions were met.”[II-29] - -Reed concludes that, although we can never know for certain, the -implication that the _Times_ photographer and Kenneth Arnold viewed -essentially the same phenomenon seems “inescapable.” This interesting -hypothesis, however, requires the presence of undulating air currents -and turbulence great enough to endanger a plane in flight. Since Arnold -specifically mentioned the smooth, calm flying, the mirage explanation -remains the most probable one. - -[II-1] Air Force Files. - -[II-2] Arnold, K., and Palmer, R. A. _The Coming of the Saucers._ -Amherst, Wisconsin: privately printed, 1952. - -[II-3] _Fate_, Vol. I, No. 1 (Spring 1948). - -[II-4] _Fate_, Vol. I, No. 2 (Summer 1948). - -[II-5] _Fate_, Vol. I, No. 3 (Fall 1948). - -[II-6] _Flying Saucers, The Magazine of Space Conquest_ (June 1960). - -[II-7] _Amazing Stories_, Vol. XXX, No. 4 (April 1956). - -[II-8] _Amazing Stories_, Vol. XVIII, No. 1 (January 1944). - -[II-9] _Amazing Stories_, Vol. XIX, No. 4 (December 1945). - -[II-10] _Amazing Stories_, Vol. XVIII, No. 5 (December 1944). - -[II-11] _Flying Saucers, The Magazine of Space Conquest_ (November -1960). - -[II-12] _Amazing Stories_, Vol. XIX, No. 1 (March 1945). - -[II-13] Palmer, R. A. “An Open Letter to Paul Fairman,” _Other Worlds -Science Stories_ (June 1952), pp. 151–56. - -[II-14] _Amazing Stories_, Vol. XIX, No. 3 (September 1945). - -[II-15] _Amazing Stories_, Vol. XX, No. 6 (September 1946). - -[II-16] _Amazing Stories_, Vol. XX, No. 4 (July 1946). - -[II-17] _Amazing Stories_, Vol. XXI, No. 2 (February 1947). - -[II-18] _Amazing Stories_, Vol. XXI, No. 6 (June 1947). - -[II-19] Fairman, P. W. “Personalities in Science Fiction,” _If_ (May -1952), pp. 63–67. - -[II-20] Ruppelt, E. J. _The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects._ -Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Co., 1956. - -[II-21] _Flying Saucers, The Magazine of Space Conquest_ (December -1958). - -[II-22] _Flying Saucers from Other Worlds_ (June 1957). - -[II-23] _Flying Saucers, The Magazine of Space Conquest_ (December -1959). - -[II-24] _Other Worlds_ (July 1953). - -[II-25] Tacker, L. J. _Flying Saucers and the U. S. Air Force._ -Princeton, N.J.: D. Van Nostrand Co., 1960. - -[II-26] Ives, R. L. “Areas of Occurrence of ‘Grindstone’ Clouds,” -_Weatherwise_, Vol. XI (1958), p. 201. - -[II-27] Scorer, R. S. “Lee Waves in the Atmosphere,” _Scientific -American_, Vol. CCIV (1961), p. 124. - -[II-28] Kraus, E. B. “Flying Saucer?” _Weather_ (November 1954). - -[II-29] Reed, R. J. “Flying Saucers over Mount Rainier,” _Weatherwise_, -Vol. XI (1958), p. 43. - - - - -_Chapter_ III - -AIR-BORNE UFOS: BALLOONS TO BUBBLES - - -In the year 1948 the “Skyhook” balloons were an official secret. -These giant plastic bags, shaped something like a teardrop, a hundred -feet and more in diameter, were part of a classified research project -sponsored by the United States Navy, and few except the researchers -and technicians involved knew of their existence. Carrying cases of -heavy instruments, the balloons were launched from various Air Force -bases to collect information about the atmosphere high above the earth, -the winds in the stratosphere, and the incidence of cosmic rays. -Soaring upward, they traveled in courses determined by the winds and -changed in direction and speed as they shifted from one wind stream to -another. Even at heights of 60,000 feet these objects with their highly -reflecting surfaces could be seen from the ground (see Figure 4). Such -balloons were especially noticeable against dark-blue skies, which -are much more common in the western United States than in the eastern -areas. They could reach heights of 100,000 feet, higher than our planes -could go. Once considered as a means for collecting information for -Military Intelligence, a task later assumed by the U-2 jets, they could -travel across the entire continent and even across the oceans. If the -plastic skin developed a leak, the resulting loss of gas altered both -the appearance and the behavior of the balloon; if the leak became -great enough the balloon shriveled and eventually fell to the earth. -At high altitudes where the cold was extreme, the skin might become -brittle and the balloon would burst into fragments to be dispersed by -the winds and vanish. - -[Illustration: _Figure 4._ Shapes of various balloons. A, Skyhook at -launching; B, Skyhook at high altitude; C, radiosonde or pibal; D, -balloon cluster; E, blimp or sausage-shaped balloon.] - -Although these balloons were sometimes visible at distances of fifty or -sixty miles and were very conspicuous, officially they did not exist -until 1950 when Dr. Urner Liddel of the Office of Naval Research -released the facts behind the Skyhook balloon program. He pointed -out then that the balloons had given rise to many reports of flying -saucers. If the Skyhook project had been public knowledge in 1948 and -if information about their launching and movements had not been a -matter of security, a courageous pilot might still be alive today and -the infant flying-saucer myth would have died long ago. There can be -little question that Captain Mantell crashed in trying to intercept a -Skyhook balloon, an object he had never heard of. - - -_The Mantell Tragedy_ - -The basic facts of the Mantell case, the second of the “classic”[B] -UFO sightings, are familiar to all who have studied flying-saucer -phenomena[III-1, p. 51]. Early on the afternoon of January 7, 1948, -the Kentucky State Highway Patrol received a large number of calls from -the towns of Maysville, Owensboro, and Irvington, reporting a strange -object moving west at high speed. Alerted by the police, officials at -Godman Air Force Base, near Ft. Knox, began looking for the unknown -craft. They soon located the object but could not identify it. Watching -it through binoculars, various observers described its shape as -circular, like a teardrop, or rounded and tapered like a parachute -or an ice-cream cone. At about 2:30 P.M. (all times in this account -are E.S.T.), as they were discussing the object, a flight of four -P-51 planes approached the base from the south. Led by Captain Thomas -Mantell, the planes were being ferried from Marietta Air Base, Georgia, -to Standiford Field near Louisville. The tower operator at Godman -thereupon radioed Captain Mantell for assistance: - -[B] A “classic” in the literature of flying saucers is a particularly -dramatic UFO incident whose specific cause has not yet been found or, -if found, cannot be absolutely proved from the evidence available. -Lacking a completely airtight explanation, official investigators -classify the case as Unknown. Saucer fans classify it as proof that -flying saucers exist. - -“We have an object out south of Godman here that we are unable to -identify and we would like to know if you have gas enough and if so -could you take a look for us if you will.” - -The ferry had been planned as a low-level flight and none of the planes -had been serviced with oxygen. Captain Mantell, a combat pilot in World -War II, nevertheless agreed to help out: “Roger. I have the gas and I -will take a look for you if you will give me the correct heading and -any information you have on locating the object.” - -The talk between Godman tower and Captain Mantell was not recorded -and transmission was sometimes garbled. Although many persons heard -the exchange of remarks during the next critical minutes and agreed -on the general content, no two remembered exactly the same words; -therefore the official reports[III-2] represent only the best possible -reconstruction of the conversation that took place. - -One plane, short of fuel, continued on to Louisville. The other three -circled and began to climb. At about 2:45 Mantell notified the tower -that he was at about 15,000 feet: “I have an object in sight above and -ahead of me, and it appears to be moving at about half my speed or -approximately 180 miles an hour.” One of his wing men said: “What the -hell are we looking for?” When Godman asked Mantell to describe the -object, he said: “It appears to be a metallic object, or possibly a -reflection of sun from a metallic object, and it is of tremendous size. -I’m going to 20,000 feet.” - -The other two pilots, who had seen nothing and were alarmed at flying -so high without oxygen, leveled off at 15,000 feet. Mantell was then -above 22,000 feet and still climbing. In ship-to-ship conversation -he said that he would go to 25,000 feet for about ten minutes, then -come down. When all further attempts to call Mantell went unanswered, -the other pilots discontinued the search and went on to their base; -although one returned after refueling and equipping himself with a mask -and oxygen, he found nothing in the area. - -At about 3:15 Mantell radioed that the object was “directly ahead of me -and slightly above, and is now moving at about my speed or better. I am -trying to close in for a better look.” He did not call again. Less than -an hour later searchers found the crashed plane. Mantell was dead. His -shattered watch had stopped at 3:18. - -During the period of search, ground observers at Godman Field had been -able to watch the UFO, gradually diminishing in size, and about 3:50 it -disappeared from view. Within a few minutes, however, observers farther -south in Kentucky and Tennessee were reporting an unknown object in the -sky. - -A hundred rumors sprang up immediately after the tragedy: that the UFO -was a Russian missile; was a weird machine from outer space that had -deliberately or accidentally knocked the plane out of the air when it -got too close; that Captain Mantell’s body was riddled with bullets; -that the plane had completely disintegrated before striking the ground; -that the wreckage was radioactive. - -Investigators rushed in to find the cause of the fatal crash and -brought confusion with them. Some facts could be quickly established. -There were no bullet wounds. The plane had not burned on impact and was -not radioactive. The left wing had come off while in the air and landed -100 feet from the main crash area. Parts of the plane were scattered -on a line north to south within six tenths of a mile of the central -wreckage. The emergency canopy lock was in place and apparently no -attempt had been made to release it. The throttle was set at one fourth -open, mixture control at “Idle cut-off,” and prop control at “Full -increase r.p.m.” - -From this evidence investigators concluded that because of lack of -oxygen Mantell had lost consciousness at about 25,000 feet, while his -plane continued to climb to about 30,000 feet; leveling off, it then -began a gradual turn to the left because of engine torque, and went -into a spiraling dive that produced a speed and a structural stress -greater than the plane could stand--the plane was “red-lined” (Air -Force jargon for the limit of safety) at 525 mph. Pilots who have -flown the P-51 in combat conditions have agreed with this conclusion -and have suggested that, as the plane fell, Mantell may have regained -consciousness, realized what was happening, pulled the throttle back -and tried to pull back on the control, thus producing a stress so great -that the wing was torn off and the plane then fell vertically. - -As an immediate result of this tragic accident, Air Force officials -recommended that all pilots be briefed again on the use of oxygen -and the effects of lack of oxygen. New orders were issued; that no -pilot go above 12,000 feet without oxygen under any circumstances; -that no aircraft be cleared for cross-country flight unless it had -been serviced with oxygen; that classes in the use of oxygen start -immediately for all pilots and crew members; that all aircraft be -equipped with oxygen; and that all pilots carry mask, helmet, goggles, -and gloves on all flights. - -The cause of the crash was known. But investigators had still to solve -the problem: what was the unknown object that Mantell had been chasing? - -[Illustration: _Figure 5._ UFO sightings in the Mantell case. The -broken line indicates the path a balloon would have followed.] - -An Air Force official had announced to the press that the unknown had -been the planet Venus. This explanation, while not impossible, was not -very probable. The position of Venus that afternoon had indeed been -very close to that of the unknown object. But with a stellar magnitude -of -3.4, less than half its maximum brilliance, in the daylight sky -the planet would have been visible, if at all, only as an exceedingly -small, bright point of light. Furthermore this answer did not fit -the pattern of sightings. The accompanying map (see Figure 5) of the -Ohio-Kentucky-Tennessee region illustrates the succession of events: - - 1:15 P.M., Maysville, Kentucky. Strange object sighted moving - west. - - 1:35 P.M., Owensboro and Irvington, Kentucky. Circular object - sighted, 250 to 300 feet in diameter, moving west. - - Shortly before 1:45 P.M., Godman Air Force Base, Kentucky. - Circular or parachute-shaped object sighted; in view for about - two hours, slowly moving south. - - 4:00 P.M., Madisonville, Kentucky. Strange object; through - binoculars identified as a balloon. - - 4:45 P.M., Nashville, Tennessee. Strange object sighted; - through binoculars identified as a balloon. - - 5:00 P.M., Lockbourne Air Force Base, Columbus, Ohio. Round - glowing amber object sighted on southwest horizon in horizontal - flight; in view about twenty minutes, then disappeared below - the horizon. - -All but the last observation in this series suggested a balloon flight, -but a quick check with the weather stations in the area failed to turn -up any record of a routine launching. Air Force investigators knew -about the Skyhook project and could have obtained information on secret -launchings, even though it was classified. But, since many of the -investigators in these early days of the saucer era were more than half -convinced that the unknown had been an interplanetary vehicle, they -abandoned the inquiry at this point and officially labeled the case an -Unknown. Flying-saucer addicts pounced on this conclusion as proof that -the object had actually been a spaceship, that the Air Force knew it to -be a spaceship and was deliberately concealing the news from the public. - - -_A Probable Solution of the Mantell Case_ - -Although the case remained unsolved for nearly four years, the -original analysis of the evidence, carried out by Dr. J. Allen Hynek, -scientific consultant for the Air Force, made certain facts clear -from the beginning. The final sightings in Ohio, so inconsistent with -the general pattern of the other observations, obviously were not -related to the reports from Kentucky and Tennessee. The object seen at -Columbus had undoubtedly been the planet Venus, glowing brilliantly -on the sunset horizon (see _Chapter_ IV). But the object that traveled -southwest over Kentucky and Tennessee had almost certainly not been -Venus. At least two objects--balloons or other aircraft--must be -involved. It was possible, though not probable, that the unknown -over Godman Field had been the planet Venus, or it might have been -still a third object. The senior author of this book, after studying -the facts available at the time and analyzing the weather conditions -prevailing that winter afternoon, suggested that the object could have -been a “mock sun” created by ice crystals in the cirrus clouds at high -altitudes[III-3, p. 22]. - -The final solution of these UFO mysteries often depends on one key -fact. Without it, the puzzle may never be solved. With it, all the -pieces fall into place. The “mock sun” theory (see p. 244) remained the -most probable explanation until, some time after the Skyhook project -had been declassified, ATIC investigators discovered the key fact: -At the time of the Mantell crash, the Clinton County Air Force Base, -in southern Ohio, had been a launching site for Skyhook balloons. -Unfortunately records for the day of Captain Mantell’s death were not -available, and the men who had worked on the balloon project could no -longer remember whether they had launched a Skyhook on that particular -day. If an unacknowledged balloon had been in the area, however, only -one more piece was needed to complete the puzzle: What path would the -balloon have followed? - -The records at Wright-Patterson Field show that the winds that -afternoon would have carried a balloon over exactly the course the -UFO followed: from southern Ohio west into Kentucky. It would have -climbed rapidly and at about 35,000 feet would have entered the -southward-flowing jet stream; shifting direction, the balloon would -have traveled south at a high rate of speed, still climbing. Somewhere -south or southwest of Godman Field it would have climbed through the -jet stream to enter a region of calm at about 60,000 feet; slowing -down, it would have drifted south or southeast into Tennessee. Of its -fate after that we can only guess[III-4, p. 19]. - -Without the Skyhook records for the day in question, this solution -cannot be called absolutely certain. But the chances of its being -correct are overwhelmingly high--infinitely higher than the -probability that Mantell died while chasing a spaceship from another -planet. - - -_A Radiosonde over Virginia_ - -In the years that followed, the pattern of sightings in the Mantell -case has often reappeared but, fortunately, without the same tragic -outcome. After each Skyhook launching, a flood of UFO sightings came in -to ATIC from towns that lay under the path of the balloon. The Skyhook -project sometimes was able to relocate a “lost” balloon by following -newspaper reports of flying saucers. - -By the summer of 1952 the existence of giant balloons was no longer -classified information. When on June 15 an unidentified flying object -appeared over several towns in Virginia and followed a course that -closely resembled that of the Mantell UFO, Air Force investigators -recognized the pattern and began looking for a balloon as the probable -explanation. The reports were as follows[III-1, p. 192]: - - 3:40 P.M., Unionville, Virginia. Very shiny object sighted at - high altitude. - - 4:20 P.M., Gordonsville, Virginia. Round, shiny object sighted - in the southeast. - - 4:25 P.M., airliner near Richmond, Virginia. A silver sphere - sighted at eleven o’clock high. - - 4:43 P.M., south of Gordonsville, Virginia. Jet pilot sighted - and tried to intercept a round, shiny sphere. - - 5:43 P.M., south of Gordonsville. An Air Force jet pilot - sighted and tried to intercept a shiny sphere; at 35,000 feet - the object was still above him. - - 7:35 P.M., Blackstone, Virginia. A round, shiny object with a - golden glow sighted, moving south. - - 7:59 P.M., radio station at Blackstone. Shiny object sighted. - - 8:00 P.M., Blackstone. Jets from Langley Air Force Base tried - to intercept object. - - 8:05 P.M., object disappeared. - -Investigators first of all checked with officials at Lowry Air Force -Base, which served as a plotting center for all Skyhook balloons, but -there were none in the East that day. Next they checked the possibility -that the UFO had been a weather balloon, but nearby weather stations -replied that none of their balloons could have been responsible for the -sightings. After calling other stations within a 150-mile radius of -Gordonsville with negative results, investigators called the weather -station at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A radiosonde (a small balloon -attached to an instrument for taking soundings in the upper atmosphere) -had been released that afternoon, but had been lost about sixty miles -southeast of the station when it apparently sprung a slow leak and -leveled off at 60,000 feet. The weather man at Pittsburgh offered -to plot its probable course as determined by the prevailing winds, -and soon telephoned Dayton to report that the UFO was probably their -balloon. - -Southeast of Pittsburgh above 50,000 feet there was a strong current -of air that fed into a stronger southerly stream flowing parallel to -the Atlantic coast, just east of the Appalachian Mountains. The balloon -would have floated along in this current like a log floating down a -river, and should have arrived in the neighborhood of Gordonsville -and Blackstone in the late afternoon or early evening. The UFO had -been sighted near Gordonsville between 4:43 and 5:43 P.M., and near -Blackstone between 7:35 and 8:00 P.M. The unknown was thus clearly -identified as the lost radiosonde. - - -_Skyhook and Pibal UFOs_ - -The year 1952 was a big year for experimental balloons--and for -UFO sightings. Weather balloons in clusters, 100-foot Skyhooks, -radiosondes, pibals (pilot balloons sent up to show the direction and -speed of the wind) were released on schedule all over the continent. -Launchings were recorded and the balloons were tracked, as far as -possible, so that for any given day or area ATIC could consult a map -and try to correlate the position of a known balloon with that of a -reported flying saucer. When a balloon was lost, any UFO sightings -it caused were not always easy to account for until--and unless--the -balloon could be found again. - -These spheres of gas vary in size from a few inches in diameter to some -two hundred feet. Often they look and behave very unlike the popular -concept of a “normal” balloon, and under the right conditions they can -fool even the most wary observer--particularly if he is more or less -expecting to see something strange. - -A man on the ground or even in a plane, watching the maneuvers of an -object some 20,000 to 100,000 feet above him, finds it impossible to -make an accurate estimate of its true height, diameter, distance, or -speed. Strong windcurrents can change the orientation of the sphere, -and the particular angle of vision of the observer can make the object -look wholly unlike a balloon. It may assume the shape of a disk, a -lens, a teardrop, a parachute, a sausage. Temperature inversions can -produce a double image of a balloon so that it looks like a linked -pair. Balloons released in pairs or clusters may seem to be traveling -in formation under intelligent control. Sunlight, moonlight, or the -lights of a city reflected from the surface may cause them to look -white, gray, amber, red, silvery, or metallic. Since balloons often -carry a heavy instrument load, they may give a radar return that -indicates a solid object. - -When balloons develop a leak, they may drop some distance at high -speed and then level off, as though under intelligent control. At the -extreme cold of high altitudes they may burst and suddenly vanish. -High in the sky at morning and evening twilight they may appear to be -self-luminous, taking their light from the invisible sun just as our -artificial satellites do. They often travel high above the air lanes, -higher than any plane can go, where varying wind streams may propel -them at great velocities, slow them until they seem to hover and be -almost stationary, abruptly change the direction of their motion so -that they reverse course, dive toward the earth, or ascend rapidly into -the sky. - -At night all these illusions are magnified because the observer has -fewer visible reference points by which to evaluate the true shape, -distance, and type of motion of these wandering spheres. They can -deceive even the most hardheaded and able pilot. The pilot is only -human when he doubts that any balloon can fool him--until it does. - - -_The Guantánamo “Dogfight”_ - -An American Navy pilot, practicing night flying over the Guantánamo -City base in Cuba on the night of September 24, 1952, engaged in a -“dogfight” with a balloon that exhibited all the characteristics -associated with this type of flying saucer. It seemed to take evasive -action, deliberately elude the pilot, make head-on passes, and respond -to every move of the plane with a countermove. - -The pilot was at 4000 feet and slowly climbing when he spotted an -orange light approaching the city from the east at 10,000 to 15,000 -feet. Realizing that the object was not a Navy plane, he tried to -intercept it, but the light had started a left turn and he could get no -closer than eight to ten miles. The object appeared to be as large as -a Navy bomber and had a greenish tail five or six times the diameter -of the light, visible only intermittently. When he reached 10,000 -feet, the light was still circling left and climbing in a ten- to -fifteen-mile orbit. To keep the nose of the relatively slow TBM on the -light required about 40 degrees of bank. At 12,000 feet the light was -still climbing faster than the plane; the pilot then stopped climbing -and reversed from a left to a right turn. The light seemed also to -reverse direction. - -All attempts at interception seemed to be met by purposeful evasive -action, and the object seemed to be guided by intelligence. When -the pilot followed the light to the north, it shifted to west, then -south, at about 25,000 feet. Suddenly it began to climb at an angle -of approximately 60 degrees and at a terrific rate. Although it had -been a large bright glow, it now appeared as a very small red point -which would have blended with the stars had it not been moving. It then -started a rapid descent. By this time the pilot was over the base and -headed northeast to intercept the light as it descended. He described -the ensuing “dogfight”[III-2]: - -“The light appeared to level out rapidly, and I missed it on the first -run and started a tight port turn. As I headed for a point that would -give me a 90-degree collision course for the light, it appeared to -accelerate and crossed my bow at an incredible speed. I immediately -went into a tighter turn and the next intercept was the same except -that I was almost on the light, as it flashed from starboard to port. -At this close range nothing but the light could be seen, and it was a -brilliant white, approximately fifteen feet in diameter. After each -run, the light appeared to go out one-quarter to one-half mile, and -slowing in speed, continuing in a port turn. As I pulled out of the -third run the light appeared to start another rapid descent towards -Caimanera. This time I went into a steep dive to follow, when the light -appeared to shallow its dive and head towards the control tower. My -altitude was 6000 to 8000 feet, descending at a speed of better than -200 knots. The light was below me and going at more than twice my -speed. As I approached the north shore of the Bay, at approximately -2000 feet descending, the light seemed to veer to port, pass over the -army dredge, steady out on an easterly heading, level out over the -mangroves, slow down rapidly over the cove ... hover over the water -momentarily, and then fade from sight.” After the plane landed, harbor -police searched the area but found nothing. - -When the pilot was informed that he had been fighting a lighted weather -balloon, released that night from the Naval Air Station at Guantánamo -Bay, he may very naturally have felt incredulous. Instead of arguing, -however, he helped carry out an experiment. On the following night the -station released another lighted balloon, at about the same time, and -the pilot took off to try an intercept. After comparing the experience -with that of the night before, he concluded that he had indeed fought a -balloon: - -“Many of the illusions seen on the previous night could be duplicated -by maneuvering the plane appropriately. I tracked the balloon to 12,000 -feet and made runs on it from as far away as ten miles. I could always -intercept and pass it at any predetermined position, as against the -fact that I could not get close to the other light, which at the time -appeared to be moving away at each attempt at approach.” - -There were other differences, too. The rate of ascent was faster on the -first night, and the second balloon did not exhibit a tail. Discussion -with members of the Aerology Department brought out the explanation of -these differences. The first night had been clear, with a bright moon -that transformed the accompanying light into a flickering tail. On the -second night the dew point was higher and the atmosphere was hazy so -that no tail was visible, the balloon looked smaller, and showed an -orange glow instead of a bright white. - -The rapid climb of the first balloon could be attributed to a vertical -air current, or to an air layer of variable density, or both. A -balloon often develops leaks at high altitudes and then descends to an -intermediate altitude where the loss of gas and the denser atmosphere -cause it to hover. One wind balloon, released earlier from the same -base, had developed a leak, started spinning, covered a horizontal -distance of about a mile, and then dropped into the water. Similarly, -the first balloon probably developed a large hole and fell very rapidly -for a while until the loss of gas and the increase in atmospheric -pressure caused it to shrink and close the hole, slowing its descent. - -Some of his impressions, he decided, were the result of making tight -turns at high speed: “The last fast descent could be due to the fact -that I may have cut the balloon with my prop on the third run, causing -the light to fall free. My last three-quarter turn was diving to port -in a position northeast of the light, which could have produced the -illusion of the light arcing across Caimanera and the Bay and settling -into the water. The light’s crossing from starboard to port could have -been the result of my plane being in a vertical turn and the light -descending straight down instead of going horizontally. At the time of -intercept I thought my wings to be almost level, the light traveling in -a flat circle, but due to the afore-mentioned vertigo, a pilot cannot -rely on his senses to establish attitude.” - -The pilot concluded: “Considering all the facts and an observation -of known light on the night of the twenty-fifth, it is my opinion -that the light on the night of the twenty-fourth was a balloon, with -its accompanying light, which had been released from the Naval Air -Station.”[III-2] - - -_The Wallops Island UFO_ - -Perhaps the most spectacular (and short-lived) UFO in history appeared -at 6:55 P.M. E.S.T. on April 1, 1960, along the east coast. A -bright-yellow streak of fire shot up from the horizon into the eastern -sky and slowly changed into a huge zigzag pattern. With the streak of -fire appeared a large reddish sphere, reported by some observers to -be as large as the full moon and many times brighter than a planet. -Visible along the entire eastern seaboard, the brilliant object slowly -moved eastward, followed by a trail of greenish sparks. While still at -high altitude out over the Atlantic Ocean, it suddenly vanished--as -though it had simply taken off into outer space. Switchboards -in eastern cities were jammed as witnesses called newspapers, -universities, and nearby observatories to report a comet, a fireball, -or a flying saucer. - -Newspapers immediately printed a full explanation of this April -Fool’s Day apparition: a scheduled but unannounced rocket launching -from Wallops Island, Virginia. The yellow fire was debris from the -rocket, reflecting the rays of the setting sun; contrary winds in the -upper atmosphere produced the zigzag form. The luminous globe was a -full-scale model of the Echo satellite--an inflated balloon 100 feet -in diameter, carried aloft by the rocket. Dry powder escaping through -holes in the balloon produced the greenish tail. The object had -“vanished” when the balloon fell back into the earth’s shadow and was -thus no longer visible. - -Although the newspapers published a full explanation within a day or -two, some saucer enthusiasts continued to treat the apparition as a -mystery. In its _Special Bulletin_ for May the National Investigations -Committee on Aerial Phenomena (see _Chapter_ XIII) included the -incident under “Recent UFO Sightings.” Three months after the launching -the organization conceded (_UFO Investigator_, July-August, 1960) that -the UFO of April 1 was probably the giant balloon sent up from Wallops -Island. - -On August 12, 1960, the counterpart of this balloon went into orbit and -became the satellite Echo, which is still circling the earth, shining -like a star of the first magnitude near dawn or sunset. - - -_Weather Balloons and Saucers_ - -In the early years of the saucer era balloons accounted for some 25 per -cent of the unidentified flying objects reported to ATIC. The pattern -of these sightings is unmistakable, and the identity of balloon and UFO -is often certain--as certain as any evidence can be. Nevertheless many -such identifications are resolutely rejected by the saucer enthusiasts. -It would be pointless to discuss all the UFO reports of this class, but -we can summarize a few of the most famous. - -In the winter of 1953, a flying saucer was reported to have circled -around a B-36 bomber and blinked a light as though signaling. -Investigators from ATIC determined the following facts: - -At 1:13 A.M. on February 6, 1953, the pilot of a B-36 plane bound for -Spokane, Washington, was near Rosalia when he sighted a round white -light below him, circling and rising at a speed estimated at 150 to -200 knots as it proceeded on a southeast course. The B-36 made a sharp -descending turn toward the light, which was in view for a period of -three to five minutes, but the pilot could not identify it. - -At 1 A.M., thirteen minutes before the sighting, the United States -Weather Bureau station at Fairchild Air Force Base had released a -pibal balloon. Winds aloft at altitudes of 7000 to 10,000 feet were -from the northwest with a speed of about fifty knots. Computations -showed that the existing winds would have carried the balloon to the -southeast, and it would have been over Rosalia, which is 12.5 nautical -miles southeast of Fairchild Air Force Base, in about fifteen minutes. -The plane sighted the unknown near Rosalia thirteen minutes after the -launching. The balloon carried white running lights which accounted for -the blinking described, and the circling climb of the UFO is typical of -a balloon’s course. Thus all the evidence supports ATIC’s conclusion -that the UFO was a weather balloon[III-2]. - -A similar sighting had occurred near Hamilton Air Force Base, -California, on the afternoon of August 3, 1952--toward the end of the -summer’s saucer scare (_Chapter_ VII)--when several pairs of saucers -supposedly engaged in dramatic duels in full view of the base. Ample -evidence supports the Air Force conclusion that the UFOs were balloons. -The two objects were first seen at 4:15 P.M. Ground observers at the -Air Force base, with the aid of binoculars, described them as silver -in color, circular in shape, 60 to 100 feet in diameter, and traveling -from east to west at an estimated speed of 400 to 450 miles an hour. -One object was at about 12,000 feet, the other at about 18,000 feet; -as they moved to the west a distance of about fifteen miles, passing -over the heads of the observers (but not circling the base), the higher -object dived to about the level of the lower, and they bobbed about -each other for about an hour and a quarter. Toward the end of this -period they were visible only intermittently because they were seen -against the sun. Three additional pairs of objects (a total of eight) -came into view fifteen to twenty miles west of the observers and, -buffeted by the winds, appeared to carry on a dogfight; momentarily -they appeared in a “diamond” formation extending over an area of about -four miles. Since the witnesses were looking into the sun at objects -fifteen or twenty miles away, they found it difficult to follow the -course of any one for any length of time. - -The objects looked like balloons, behaved like balloons, and weather -balloons had been released in the area that day. Conclusion: the -saucers were weather balloons[III-2]. - -A number of other publicized cases listed as “Unknown” were in all -probability balloons. Since a probability, however good, is not the -same as an established fact, these sightings remain in the Unknown -category even though their actual explanation is reasonably certain. -Such a case was that near Hermanas, New Mexico, which, like that a few -weeks earlier at Hamilton Air Force Base, may have been stimulated by -the 1952 saucer panic in Washington (_Chapter_ VII). - -On August 24, 1952, an Air Force colonel was flying from California -to Georgia in an F-84-G plane at an air speed of about 290 miles an -hour. At 10:15 A.M. M.S.T., when near Hermanas, New Mexico, he observed -two round, silvery objects about six feet in diameter some two miles -north of him and traveling east at high speed; they showed no trail -or exhaust. During the three minutes they were in view, one object -suddenly began a right turn while the second accelerated rapidly; -they changed in shape and in color, became elongated and gray, and -then disappeared. A few minutes later over El Paso, Texas, he saw two -similar silvery objects, also traveling east. During the ten minutes -they were in view, one object seemed to climb straight up for 2000 or -3000 feet, followed immediately by the second one. Assuming that the -same pair of objects was involved in both sightings, the observer -concluded that they were going much faster than any plane, and reported -the incident to ATIC. - -The behavior described is typical of that of balloons. Rising into a -new wind stream, they may move rapidly and change their orientation -so that they look sausage-shaped instead of round; reflecting -the sun at a different angle, they look gray rather than silver. -Investigators checked with Biggs Air Force Base, White Sands, and El -Paso International Airport; both White Sands and El Paso had released -weather balloons at 8:00 that morning which had traveled southeast -and burst some time before the sighting at Hermanas. Since no single -recorded balloon could account for the sighting, it was listed as -Unknown[III-2]. - -This inquiry can scarcely be called thorough. No check seems to -have been made at Holloman Air Force Base or at more distant bases -whose weather balloons might well have traveled into the area. The -investigators apparently accepted the pilot’s assumption that the -objects in the two sightings were identical and were therefore -traveling at incredible speeds; yet there was no evidence to support -the assumption. It is far more probable that he was observing two sets -of objects, not one. The estimates of size, distance, and speed are all -uncertain because no fixed reference point existed. The report does not -state whether the objects seemed to be above or below the plane, and -does not give the exact heading of the objects. - -The objects looked and behaved like balloons. Another possibility is -that they were fragments from the balloons that had burst earlier. But -the explanation of this incident remains unknown because too few facts -were determined. - - -_Plastic UFOs and the “Stack of Coins”_ - -A burst balloon has caused many a saucer scare, but the invasion of -Farmington, New Mexico, on Saint Patrick’s Day 1950 was one of the -most dramatic. The “saucers” began to fly about 10:15 A.M. M.S.T., and -soon filled the air. In numbers estimated from 500 to thousands, for -the next hour the gleaming saucer-shaped objects soared over the town, -moving erratically at incredible speeds, darting in and out among -each other in what one writer has called “the greatest exhibition of -magnetic flight that has ever happened in this universe.”[III-6] (See -_Chapter_ IX.) - -The explanation is more prosaic. A Skyhook balloon had been launched -that morning from Holloman Air Force Base near White Sands, New Mexico. -Near Farmington, in the cold atmosphere at 60,000 feet the balloon had -become brittle, burst, and disintegrated into hundreds of tiny pieces -of plastic. Light as feathers, shining in the sunlight, they floated -over the town and away[III-1, p. 106]. - -A similar episode occurred on July 27, 1952, the day after the second -Washington “invasion.” The dramatically named “stack of coins” sighting -at Manhattan Beach, California, was reported by an aircraft engineer, -formerly a Navy pilot, and was confirmed by seven other witnesses. - -At 6:35 P.M. P.S.T., just before sunset, a bright silvery object -appeared high in the sky, elliptical in shape and apparently solid. The -size was estimated to be about that of a dime held at arm’s length. -As the observers watched, it turned to the south and gracefully broke -apart into seven smaller objects, as smoothly as a stack of coins -separating. The three lead objects assumed a V position, the others -followed in two pairs, and the whole formation then turned northeast -and quickly disappeared. ATIC investigators, still buried in a mass of -equally spectacular reports, could provide no solution to the mystery, -and another fleet of saucers had apparently been added to the summer’s -list. - -Immediately concluding that the objects were from outer space, -UFO-philes pondered the meaning of the incident. One author suggested -that the disks might have been seven different ships that, when first -observed, had been stacked like coins and attached to each other by -some magnetic force, so that all could be directed as one[III-5]. - -This sighting has remained technically an unknown chiefly because the -descriptions fail to give the necessary information. What direction -did the object come from? How long was it in sight? What balloons had -been released in the area that day? At what time? What were the winds -at high altitudes? The winds at low levels were from the west, and at -altitudes from 20,000 to 50,000 feet they were from the east; but what -were they in the region above 70,000 feet, the probable location of -the object? Even without these facts, a reasonable explanation can be -offered: the unknown was a radiosonde balloon that burst at a high -altitude. - -The sun was low on the western horizon. A balloon at a great height -reflects the sun brilliantly from its rubber or plastic skin and -gleams like a giant metallic sphere. These balloons usually soar to -70,000 to 90,000 feet before they burst from the cold. The fragments -then disperse in an impressively uniform pattern, and may disappear -quickly. The radiosonde package and attached parachute fall rapidly at -such heights. They are not noticed by the witnesses because the chute -usually does not open fully until after the package has fallen some -distance into the beginning twilight near the earth’s surface. - -This explanation of the “stack of coins” cannot be proved, of course, -but every detail of the incident is consistent with the behavior of a -bursting balloon[III-2]. - - -_Jets and Contrails_ - -Weather balloons are not the only air-borne objects that have been -mistaken for interplanetary craft. Flying saucers reported over -Durango, Colorado, early in August 1952 turned out to be four T-33 Air -Force jets flying at 30,000 feet, so high that no sound reached the -ground. - -A low-flying jet, enveloped in an aura of cloud made by the jet itself, -can look like a strange object. This condensation phenomenon, called -a contrail, occurs when areas of low pressure develop on the wing -surface; the air cools by expansion in the slowly moving boundary layer -in contact with the wing. Both the depth of the boundary layer and the -drop in pressure increase with increasing air speed, but each depends -very closely on the aerodynamic qualities of the wing. An excellent -photograph of one such disk produced by a Canberra jet was taken on -February 4, 1956, along the coast of Africa near Accra on a morning -when the condensation phenomenon occurred several times during air -maneuvers. The weather was fine, the sky cloudless with a few patches -of haze over the sea, and visibility was more than eight miles. During -the display the air speed of the jets was usually too low or the -air too dry for the aura to form. “But over the cliff edge where the -sea-breeze was just beginning to break through in patches the air would -be moist enough to condense about 1½ gm. of water droplets in each -cubic metre of air, quite sufficient to produce the observed effect. -The effect is increased by higher speeds at the end of a dive (when the -angle of incidence of the aerofoil is least) ... but it is likely that -the patchy onset of the sea-breeze was the most important contributing -factor.”[III-7] - -A flying saucer reported from Johannesburg, South Africa, on April -11, 1958, belongs in this category. Hundreds of witnesses reported -a mysterious starlike object maneuvering in the northern sky on -three successive nights at speeds in excess of 2000 miles an hour. -Most observers agreed that “The Thing” could not have been any known -aircraft because its speed was too great; it sometimes hovered -stationary in the air, and repeatedly changed color from white to red -to deep scarlet. One member of an Interplanetary Club who watched it -through binoculars described the UFO as saucer-shaped, with a rim like -a soup plate around the edge. - -Members of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research -Minitrack Station, near Johannesburg, were amused by the variety of -reports on “The Thing.” The mysterious object in the night skies was -in fact a South African Air Force Dakota aircraft, flying back and -forth so that the Minitrack Station could test the calibration of its -tracking instruments. In addition to the usual navigation lights, the -aircraft had carried a bright, flashing light so that it could be -photographed[III-7a]. - -A flight of bombers refueling in mid-air at night can be a startling -spectacle and more than once has been reported as a gathering of flying -saucers. - -Such an incident occurred in Florida on October 31, 1955, when a disk -jockey at Gainesville broke into his radio program about ten o’clock in -the evening to announce that flying saucers were over the station. Many -of his listeners hurried out of their houses to look at the Halloween -visitors, clearly visible in the night sky. One reporter stated that -he had seen four to six objects, oblong in shape, brilliantly glowing, -red and orange, traveling soundlessly in a straight-line formation that -later changed to a V[III-8]. Both the radio station and the police -station were swamped with telephone calls from frightened citizens, -most of whom calmed down when they learned the explanation: a flight of -bombers had been refueling at an altitude of 32,000 feet. - - -_The Killian Case_ - -The most famous UFO sighting of this type is the Killian case. On the -evening of February 24, 1959, an American Airlines plane was flying -from Newark to Detroit. At about 8:45 P.M., when the plane was near -Bradford, Pennsylvania, the pilot, Captain Killian, noticed some -puzzling lights above and to the left of his plane. There seemed to -be three, their colors changing from yellow to light orange, dimming -and brightening in intensity and shifting their relative positions. -At first he supposed he was looking at the constellation Orion, for -the lights had the same configuration as the stars in Orion’s “belt,” -but when the lights changed position and he could see Orion itself in -addition to the lights, he discarded his first theory. He considered -the possibility of a jet tanker refueling operation, but decided the -lights were moving too slowly. He couldn’t think of any ordinary -explanation--but he had long wondered what truth there was in the idea -of flying saucers and had thought there must be something to it. - -Over the loud speaker he remarked to the passengers that American -Airlines had a special treat for them which they could see by looking -out of the left windows. He continued to watch the lights as he flew -west toward Detroit, and radioed two other American Airlines planes in -the area. Learning that their pilots were also watching the unusual -spectacle, he notified Air Traffic Control (ATC) in Detroit. The lights -remained in view for about forty minutes, all the way to Detroit, and -the pilot lost sight of them only when he began to let down through the -haze for a landing. - -Reporters and photographers were waiting to interview him, and next -day’s Detroit _Times_ carried a banner headline, “Mystery Discs Trail -Plane Here,” over a picture of Captain Killian flanked by the plane’s -two pretty hostesses, all three smiling as they held up to the camera -three ordinary kitchen saucers[III-9]. After checking with the Detroit -ATC, who did not know of any scheduled refueling operation, the pilot -reported his experience to officials of American Airlines, and next -day returned to New York where again he was besieged by reporters -and photographers. Meanwhile, following standard CIRVIS procedure -(Communication Instruction for Reporting Vital Intelligence Sighting -from Aircraft), the manager of operations of American Airlines reported -the incident to ATIC at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. - -In New York the day after the sighting Captain Killian gave a telephone -interview to Radio Station WCHS, Charleston, West Virginia, describing -his experience. Following the customary procedure, intelligence -officers from Mitchell Air Force Base questioned him and filled out the -usual report form[III-2]. In the radio interview and in the talk with -intelligence officers Captain Killian made the same statements he had -made to American Airlines officials: he didn’t know what the lights -were, and he couldn’t tell how far away they had been because he didn’t -know their size or their altitude[III-10]. - -Not for months had such a good flying-saucer story appeared, and the -newspapers made the most of it. Among the first to assert that the -unknown lights had been flying saucers was the UFO Research Committee -of Akron, Ohio (see _Chapter_ XIII). Members of the committee had -received the news by telephone, even before Captain Killian’s plane -landed at Detroit, from the pilot of a United Airlines plane who -had watched the lights on his flight to Akron. During the days -following, Captain Killian’s copilot gave an interview on Long John -Nebel’s after-midnight radio program in New York. Captain Killian -himself described the UFOs to members of a New York UFO organization, -Civilian Saucer Intelligence (CSI), and appeared on several radio -and TV programs. Both saucer addicts and newsmen besieged Air Force -representatives, demanding an immediate explanation of the sighting. -Finally, on February 28, only two days after receiving the report from -American Airlines, ATIC yielded to public pressure and produced a -tentative theory: it was possible that the pilots might have sighted -the stars of Orion, as Captain Killian had first suggested. However, -the release added, no definite conclusion could be reached until all -the facts had been studied. - -Promptly rejecting the possibility that he might have been looking at -Orion, Captain Killian stated in an interview with the New York _Herald -Tribune_, “I am sure there are people on other planets and that they -have solved the problem of space travel.... I sincerely believe that -their vehicles are coming close to earth.” - -While the saucer believers were keeping the story alive, applauding -Captain Killian and denouncing the Air Force, the experts at ATIC had -been collecting facts and trying to analyze them. The basic piece -of evidence was Captain Killian’s own report to American Airlines, -made a few hours after the incident took place. After describing the -circumstances of the sighting, the appearance and behavior of the -lights, the statement continues: - -“The only possible explanation other than flying saucers could be -a jet-tanker refueling operation. Never having witnessed refueling -operations at night, I am not aware of the lighting of the jet tanker. - -“My air speed during this complete flight was 250 knots indicated. I -also do not know the air speed of tankers during operation if this -could be so. I contacted ATC to find out if they had any airplanes on a -clearance and no three airplanes were given. - -“In summary, it was difficult for me to believe they were jets because -of low speed and configuration. If they weren’t jets I still don’t know -any more than I did before even though I watched them for forty minutes -before. Due to the dark and strong lights I was not able to ascertain -any size or shape. The altitude of the objects was 30 degrees above my -horizon. Distance away is unknown.”[III-2] - -Almost equally important was the evidence of other witnesses. During -the forty-minute period of observation, the crews of five other planes, -all flying west in the Pennsylvania-Ohio region, had watched the lights -for varying lengths of time. Several persons on the ground in and near -Akron had seen them between 9:15 and 9:30. - -Air Force investigators methodically gathered the facts and made their -analysis and on March 16, only twenty days after the sighting, they -released a summary to the press. The mysterious lights belonged to -normal terrestrial aircraft. Although ATC at Detroit had apparently -not had the information when first asked, three B-47 bombers of -the Strategic Air Command had been carrying out a night refueling -operation from KC-97 tankers at the time and place reported. The tanker -has several groups of lights which, from a distance, can seem to be one -or more lights, and would have looked very much like the three objects -described by Captain Killian. Such a refueling operation takes from -about forty minutes to more than an hour. - -Captain Killian had been flying at an altitude of 8500 feet, and he had -given the location of the unknowns as 30 degrees above his horizon; -this agreed with the position of the tankers, which were operating at -an altitude of 17,000 feet. Captain Killian had been flying west at an -indicated air speed of 250 knots; the refueling tankers had also been -flying west at a true air speed of 230 knots (ca. 270 mph). Since the -courses of plane and tankers were roughly parallel, the tankers had -remained in view and would have arrived over Akron at about 9:15, the -time that ground observers reported the lights. - -Everything checked. Every detail of the incident was accounted -for[III-11]. Nevertheless the solution caused an explosion in -the camps of the saucer enthusiasts, who called it, among other -things, imaginative. Forgetting that the “Orion” theory suggested -immediately after the sighting had been only tentative, UFO addicts -ridiculed it and asked why the experts had later offered a different -explanation--which they greeted with equal ridicule[III-12]. - -Captain Killian, too, had apparently forgotten his first report. On -March 24, a month after the sighting, in an interview by the Long -Island _Daily Press_ he stated that the things he saw could not have -been tankers; that he knew what B-47 bombers and KC-97 tankers looked -like, and how they looked in operation at night (Original statement -to American Airlines: “Never having witnessed refueling operations at -night, I am not aware of the lighting of jet tankers.”) Also, he told -the _Daily Press_, the objects he saw were at least triple the size of -any known tanker or bomber. (Original statement to American Airlines: -“Due to the dark and strong lights I was not able to ascertain any -size or shape.”) Furthermore, he asserted, the unknowns had been far -too fast for a tanker, and had moved at a speed of about 2000 miles an -hour. (Original statement to American Airlines: “... it was difficult -for me to believe they were jets because of low speed.”) - -In rejecting the Air Force explanation of this incident, flying-saucer -addicts ignored several embarrassing questions: If Captain Killian -actually saw interplanetary craft, how did he fail to see the earthly -aircraft operating at the same time and place? If the unknowns moved at -a speed of 2000 miles an hour, how did Captain Killian and the crews of -several other planes, flying at less than 300 miles an hour, keep the -unknowns in sight for forty minutes? In that length of time the UFOs -should have covered most of the distance to the Pacific. - -Few persons, given the facts by responsible officials, would persist -in denying the reality of the tankers and conjuring up a fleet of -flying saucers to occupy the relevant cubic area of space. To the true -enthusiast, however, these refueling planes remain incontrovertible -proof that spacecraft are among us. - - -_... And Kites and Soap Bubbles_ - -Objects need not be as large as Skyhook balloons or jets to start -a flying-saucer scare. Brightly illuminated advertising blimps -have caused many UFO reports. Unfamiliar circumstances or a faulty -perspective can manufacture spaceships out of things as small as seeds, -spider webs, scraps of paper, or toy balloons. - -In the autumn of 1947, during the first months of the saucer scare, -many such UFOs were reported. One experienced observer, formerly -a combat pilot, reported a flying saucer overhead at a height he -estimated as 5000 feet. More careful study showed that the object -was at a height of only about 250 feet and was suspended from small -balloons. Later he learned that, as a joke, some boys had launched a -paper saucer carried by helium-filled toy balloons. During this same -period when everyone was talking about flying saucers, spaceships -reported over an Iowa town one night turned out to be glowing bits of -paper drifting from a fireplace chimney[III-13]. - -On March 16, 1961, according to the British radio, a resident of East -Suffolk reported to the police that he had seen a spaceship land in a -nearby field. Investigators soon found the craft: a fuel tank that had -fallen from a passing plane. - -A fleet of UFOs appeared late one afternoon in July 1961 to an observer -driving west along Highway 54 from El Paso, Texas, to Alamogordo, New -Mexico. It had been raining in the mountains, and wind and dust storms -had forced the driver to stop several times during his trip, but now -the sun was shining between patches of dark cloud in the western sky. -Driving toward the outskirts of Alamogordo, he was startled to see a -V-shaped formation of huge saucers flying directly toward him. Stopping -his car, he saw that they were glowing a deep red, were moving at high -speed, and seemed to be as high as the clouds. When they had reached -a point nearly overhead, they suddenly seemed to drop down toward the -observer. Rapidly revising all his first estimates of size, height, -and speed, he recognized their true identity. They were merely a group -of tumbleweeds that had been carried aloft in the strong winds and -were soaring past at a height of only 100 feet. Illumination from the -setting sun had produced their weird reddish glow. - -A spectacular flying saucer hovered near the Smithsonian -satellite-observing station in Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles, on -the night of October 17, 1961. The station crew observed it with -binoculars, by apogee telescope, and photographed it with the -Baker-Nunn satellite camera. A brilliantly glowing object, it shone -in the eastern sky, moving erratically and fluctuating in brightness. -After watching it for nearly an hour and finding that the nearby -airport could not observe the object, the observers concluded that it -must be less distant than it seemed, and set out by car to try to get -a closer look. About a mile and a half from the station they stopped, -and solved the mystery. A plantation manager and his servant stood in a -field, hanging on to one end of a 1200-foot kite string. At the other -end, high in the sky, soared a kite; hanging from it was a lighted -pressure lantern[III-14] (see Plate IIa). - -In 1954 malfunction of a sewage-disposal plant in western Pennsylvania -produced one of the most spectacular saucer reports on record. An -oversupply of detergent, whipped by a stiff breeze, foamed into a -mountainous tower of bubbles. A sudden gust of wind broke the tower -and launched a colossal mass of bubbles as large as a ten-story -building. This brilliant, scintillating, super-giant bubble bath rose -to great heights and drifted for miles. Widely reported as a UFO, this -apparition was merely an unusual by-product of modern technology. The -UFOs photographed over Kentucky on July 7, 1947, were probably vapor -trails, a less familiar sight then than now; or they might possibly -have been the smoke trails from an exploding meteor (see Plate IIb). - -A saucer incident that might have become a classic Unknown occurred in -Denver at 10 A.M. on a summer’s day in 1950. A man was sitting on the -shady porch of his house, reading. Beyond the porch roof the sun shone -brightly. Glancing up from his book, he was startled to see a formation -of perhaps a dozen spherical objects, shining iridescently, traveling -toward the distant mountains. As he watched, those in the front of the -procession seemed to vanish instantly while others appeared out of -nowhere to join the parade at the rear. Measuring their size against -the mountain background, he decided they were “immense” and they moved -at fantastic speed, covering the thirty or so miles to the mountains in -a matter of five or six seconds. - -Too stunned to take action, he was still numb from shock when he heard -a faint “Hello,” and looked up--to realize that the little girl across -the street was blowing soap bubbles. If the man had jumped up when -he first saw the objects and had rushed into the house to telephone -the nearest saucer club, he might never have found out that the -“spaceships” were only bubbles[III-15]. - -[III-1] Ruppelt, E. J. _The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects._ -Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1956. - -[III-2] Air Force Files. - -[III-3] Menzel, D. H. _Flying Saucers._ Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard -University Press, 1953. - -[III-4] Tacker, L. J. _Flying Saucers and the U. S. Air Force._ -Princeton, N.J.: D. Van Nostrand Co., 1960. - -[III-5] Keyhoe, D. E. _Flying Saucers from Outer Space._ New York: -Henry Holt & Co., 1953. - -[III-6] Scully, F. _Behind the Flying Saucers._ New York: Popular -Library, Inc., 1951, p. 144. - -[III-7] Sarson, P. B. “Aircraft Condensation Aura,” _Meteorological -Magazine_, London, Vol. LXXXV (1956), p. 217. - -[III-7a] Johannesburg _Star_, April 14, 1958. - -[III-8] Case 142, CRIFO _Orbit_, Vol. II (March 2, 1956). - -[III-9] Detroit _Times_, Feb. 25, 1959. - -[III-10] Barker, G. “Chasing the Flying Saucers,” _Flying Saucers_ -(July 1959), p. 24 ff. - -[III-11] Kirsch, F. A. “Air Force Right on Killian ‘Saucer’?” _Flying -Saucers_ (August 1960), p. 17 ff. - -[III-12] “Report on Unidentified Flying Objects Observed Feb. 24, 1959, -by American-United Airline Pilots.” Compiled by Unidentified Flying -Objects Research Committee, Akron, Ohio, Feb. 24, 1960. - -[III-13] Wylie, C. C. [Speech] _Popular Astronomy_, Vol. LVI (1948), p. -217. - -[III-14] Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, _The SAO News_, Vol. I, -No. 6 (November 1961). - -[III-15] Dean, C. W. Personal communication. - - - - -_Chapter_ IV - -THE SPANGLED HEAV’NS: STARS AND PLANETS - - -Shortly before dawn on March 3, 1955, a spectacular flying saucer -appeared over Alaska. The witness, a civilian scientist with the rank -of Commander in the United States Navy, was returning from the North -Pole on the daily Air Force Ptarmigan weather flight; his mission had -been to study the effect of the aurora on radio propagation, for the -Department of Defense. He described his experience as follows: - - -_A Mirage of Sirius_ - -“We were flying southwest of Point Barrow, Alaska, not far from -Bering Strait, en route to Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks, and -our course was roughly southeast. The night was clear and the stars -shone brilliantly. I was looking out of the western bomb blister when -suddenly I saw a bright object shoot in at tremendous speed from the -horizon, directly toward the plane. At first I thought it was a meteor -or a fireball and I instinctively ducked, but the object came to a -sudden skidding stop about 300 feet away, thereafter riding along with -our plane and keeping pace with our speed. I could scarcely believe my -eyes. The thing possessed green and red signal lights that flashed back -and forth, and something that looked like a lighted propeller on the -top. Beyond question, it was a flying saucer. - -“I wondered if the thing might be a hallucination, brought on by -fatigue. After all, we had been in the air almost seventeen hours. I -cleaned my spectacles and rubbed my eyes, but the Saucer was still -there, pacing the plane and bobbing up and down as the plane itself -occasionally wove or dipped. My next thought was to eliminate all -possible chance that the thing was an internal reflection. I pulled my -fur parka up over my head and put my face smack against the bulging -surface of the blister that formed the window. Thus shielded from all -internal illumination, I could still see the glowing object. I next -drew a pencil from my pocket and held it out at arm’s length, and was -surprised to find that the glowing disk was somewhat smaller than the -eraser. I made a rapid calculation and concluded that if the sphere was -actually 300 feet away, as it seemed, then it was only a foot or two -in diameter, not much larger than a basketball. My next thought was -whether one of the radio parachutes had somehow or other got attached -to the plane by the string. These objects, brilliantly lit by an -electric light, can be quite startling. But it had been nearly half an -hour since the last parachute release and the meteorologists were just -getting ready to lower another through the trap. I decided to call the -meteorologist to look at the thing. But before I could call out, as -if it had read my mind the object suddenly took off at top speed and -disappeared. Now I was really concerned. In less than two seconds the -UFO had vanished over the coast of Siberia, some 200 miles away. It -must have been traveling at the fantastic speed of more than 100 miles -a second. The Korean War was over but our relations with the Soviet -Union were still tense, and I wondered if the object might be a secret -Russian missile on reconnaissance. I kept my eyes glued to the point -where the saucer had disappeared and suddenly, a couple of minutes -later, it shot back toward the plane, more brilliant and spectacular -than the first time. - -“You can perhaps imagine my relief when I suddenly realized what the -object was, and at the same time realized that I had hit on the answer -to a great many flying-saucer reports of a similar nature. Only someone -familiar with the constellations could have identified the object. It -was a mirage of Sirius, the brightest star in the heavens. Actually -Sirius was slightly below the horizon at this time, but the bending -of the light had raised the image above the horizon and had diffused -the beam into the saucerlike form. The flashing red and green lights -were common phenomena associated with star twinkling, and the apparent -structure, including the whirling propeller, resulted from distortion -by the earth’s atmosphere. - -“But why had the image taken off the way it did, and then rushed back? -The moving plane of course was continually changing position relative -to the ground features. A mountain peak on the distant horizon had -briefly come between the plane and the star, obscuring the light. The -light was not cut off all at once, however. Thus as the image dimmed -it seemed to shrink, as though it were racing away. This temporary -barrier also explained the sudden stops and starts and the tremendous -instantaneous acceleration the object seemed to make at the instant it -appeared. The large atmospheric lens was simply focusing the light of -the star in the general direction of the plane and thus it was centered -with my eye. That is why the object seemed to duplicate the motion of -the plane. - -“I watched the object for several minutes after its return. I was able -to get full confirmation of this identification when the star rose over -the western horizon; it rose in the west because the southward motion -of the plane more than compensated for the westward rotation of the -star. And as Sirius came up from the horizon, the ‘flying saucer’ sank -back into the brilliant hemisphere of stars, where it belonged.” (The -witness in this case was the senior author of this book.) - -Sirius has inspired many UFO reports. On December 10, 1952, at 7:15 -P.M. P.S.T., the pilot and radar observer of an F-94 on routine patrol -duty were over the town of Odessa, Washington, at about 26,000 feet -when they saw a large white light in the east[IV-1]. Dim reddish-white -lights seemed to be coming from “windows,” and no trail or exhaust was -visible. The pilot attempted to intercept but the object performed -amazing feats--did a _chandelle_ in front of the plane, rushed away, -stopped, and then made straight for the aircraft on a collision course -at incredible speed. The pilot banked away to avoid collision, and -afterward was not able to locate the object. The radar man then got -a brief return but soon lost contact. Although the visual and radar -contacts had not coincided, both men assumed that they referred to the -same object[IV-2, p. 65]. - -Investigators suggested at first that the object might have been one -of the Telemuk balloons, but this idea had to be discarded and the -sighting was listed as Unknown. A review of the evidence by the present -authors suggests a highly probable explanation. Above the low cloud -cover at 3000 feet the night was clear and moonless. In the east, -Sirius was just rising over the horizon at the exact bearing of the -unknown object. Atmospheric refraction would have produced exactly -the phenomenon described. The same atmospheric conditions that caused -the mirage of the star would have caused anomalous radar returns (see -_Chapter_ VIII). - - -_Earth’s Distorting Atmosphere_ - -In everyday life we often look at familiar objects through a distorting -medium. Houses and persons seen through a pane of poor window glass -look peculiar and wrongly shaped, and images of trees and clouds -reflected in a pool or a stream of rippling water may continually shift -and break, but these distortions do not deceive us because we are used -to them. The child who stands before the crazy mirrors in an amusement -park may laugh at himself for looking so fat or so thin, so tall or so -short. Knowing that the image is only a ludicrous approximation to his -real appearance, he is able to recognize himself without difficulty. -But a stranger, placed so that he could see only the distorted image -and not the person who made it could not make the necessary corrections -and probably would not recognize the child if they met in the street. - -Like window glass, water, or mirrors, a mere layer of air can distort -an image. For the astronomer, the earth’s atmosphere is a lifelong -frustration. Acting as an imperfect lens, it continually falsifies the -true position, color, size, and shape of the heavenly bodies he tries -to study. Under certain conditions it can change the image of a star -or a planet into an unrecognizable stranger. When light enters the -atmosphere, the rays are bent or “refracted” so that the image is moved -upward, somewhere above the true position of the star (see Figure 6). -When we are admiring a sunset and think we are watching the very top -rim of the sinking sun as it drops below the horizon, we are actually -seeing only its projected image. The sun itself has already set, but -its light is bent upward by the air that clings to the earth’s surface. -The greater the density of the air, the greater the displacement of -the image. If there were no air at the earth’s surface, the sun would -vanish and darkness would come instantaneously, with no intervening -period of twilight. - -[Illustration: _Figure 6._ Bending of light by the atmosphere. A star -below the horizon is visible because refraction raises the image.] - -A star’s light does not bend uniformly, however. Light rays of -different wave lengths bend at different angles, so that when white -light is scattered or “dispersed” into its component colors, the blues -and greens are bent more than the reds. The density and the temperature -of the air also affect the beam, so that as a star’s light travels from -the thin upper atmosphere to the denser air near the earth, the colors -shift constantly and the star seems to twinkle, flicker, and change in -color and brightness. - -Such changes are most noticeable when a star is low on the horizon at -dawn or at dusk, so that its light reaches us only after traveling -through miles of dense atmosphere. The sun displays these effects -dramatically. At sunrise and sunset its scattered light may illuminate -the entire horizon. Clouds turn red and gold, hills and the tops of -buildings take on a ruddy glow, and the entire sky may flame. The red -wave lengths remain, while most of the blues and greens have been -scattered out of the beam or may appear briefly at the top of the sun’s -disk, as a “green flash,” at the instant it sinks below the horizon. - -Similarly, a star or planet observed low on the horizon at sunrise or -sunset may appear extraordinarily large and brilliant. It may seem to -have structure, showing an intense red glow at the bottom and bright -blue at the top. Watching it, the startled observer may see the object -apparently in motion, hovering, pulsating, and flashing red and green -lights. If he is so inclined, he can easily interpret the image as a -strange machine, the red as the glow from an exhaust, and the blue as -the illumination system of an interplanetary craft. - -[Illustration: _Figure 7._ Displacement of light image by temperature -inversion.] - -Normally the air is warmest at the surface of the earth and steadily -gets colder at greater and greater heights. Sometimes this condition -is reversed, particularly in the broad deserts and prairies of the -Southwest, where the changes between the day’s heat and the night’s -cold may be sudden and extreme. The ground cools off rapidly during -the night and imparts this coldness to the layer of air immediately -above. Thus the air may be warmer some distance above the ground. When -such a “temperature inversion” occurs, light going through the air -bends in a peculiar way (see Figure 7), so that the image is displaced -far more than normally. The inversion may produce fuzzy or greatly -distorted images, and when there are several layers of alternating hot -and cold air, the effects may be spectacular. At the boundaries between -the layers the distortion and displacement increase greatly. A star -or a planet seen through such an atmosphere may display apparently -violent motions, peculiar shapes, and fantastic color changes; light -clouds drifting over the bright stars may increase this illusion of -motion[IV-3]. The rising or setting sun, although actually below the -horizon, may project upward several images of itself, one on the top of -another, to form a kind of Chinese pagoda, or a “bell pepper.” And the -twinkling top rung of the pagoda may simulate a whirling propeller. - - -_The “Whipping Girl” of Saucerdom_ - -The planets are wanderers. Each day they move to a new position among -the constellations. Astronomers and navigators have learned the paths -of the planets and the positions of the brightest fixed stars, but most -of us, when we look up at the night sky and see a brilliant stranger -among the familiar star groups, must cudgel our brains to account -for it. According to our dispositions, we may consult a newspaper or -telephone an observatory to find out the name of the intruder, or we -may conclude that the unknown is an alien spacecraft. - -The planet Venus has been chased at least once by patrolmen in a squad -car, has several times caused the scrambling of jet interceptors, -and has been named the culprit in so many UFO mysteries that saucer -enthusiasts somewhat cynically refer to it as “the whipping girl” of -saucerdom. - -The brightest of the planets and the closest to earth, Venus never -moves more than 45 degrees from the sun and thus is most often visible -in our skies near sunrise or sunset, preceding or following the sun. -The apparent size of the planet varies according to its distance from -the earth and its phase. When it is farthest from the earth, the disk -has a diameter of ten seconds; at its closest, the diameter has grown -sixfold, to sixty-four seconds. The human eye and the ordinary camera -see it as a brilliant white star. Being nearer the sun, Venus receives -almost twice as much light from the sun as does the earth, and when at -greatest brilliance, can be seen in the daytime sky. Viewed momentarily -through rapidly moving cirrus clouds, it may seem to be racing across -the sky like a flying saucer, but a longer look will reveal that the -object is actually making very slow progress, like a planet[IV-4]. - -To the airman in the cockpit of a plane, the planet in the dawn sky -can be a breathtaking sight. As one veteran pilot has described the -experience, “Venus rose to signal me from the eastern horizon, so -brilliant and inconsistent in color, changing at once from yellow to -green to purple and then reversing the show, that I thought for a time -it was another aircraft equipped with special lighting devices. But -Venus steadied in time, proving its identity.”[IV-5] - -During the spring of 1956 Venus stimulated an unusual amount of -flying-saucer excitement. About 9:00 E.S.T. on the nights of March -20, 21, and 22, dozens of persons in Cincinnati, Ohio, telephoned -the newspapers and the local headquarters of Civilian Research -Interplanetary Flying Objects (CRIFO), to report an unidentified -flying object that was burning “like a beacon” in the western sky. A -reporter for the Cincinnati _Enquirer_ stated: “To the naked eye, the -object appeared to be an extraordinarily intense bluish white light -... through binoculars, the object appeared to be a compact galaxy -of lights, changing form as they revolved slowly. At one point, with -binoculars set slightly out of focus, it assumed the appearance of a -diamond brooch ringed with emeralds turning lazily on an eccentric -axis.” The object was visible for nearly an hour, moved slowly to the -northwest, and disappeared. - -Astronomers quickly identified the unknown as Venus. To the saucer -enthusiasts, however, it appeared as a low-flying luminous object with -swept-back wings, hovering in the west, making no sound, and displaying -colors that changed from red to white. While admitting that some of -the reported sightings might have been Venus, the editor of _Orbit_ -(the official publication of CRIFO) argued that an object that changed -shape and sparkled like diamonds and emeralds could not possibly be -Venus. He stated “that the public should know that out of seventeen -UFO reports received for a three day period, ten were explainable as -Venus but _six were not_! These stubborn six defied all conventional -explanation.”[IV-6] - -While the fate of the seventeenth UFO may require further explanation, -the flying saucer reports did not offer a real puzzle. The time, the -position, the colors, and the apparent motions of the object were -entirely consistent with those expected for the planet under the -prevailing atmospheric conditions. Dr. Paul Herget of the Cincinnati -Observatory had easily identified the “mysterious” object. He added -that Venus would continue to get brighter and brighter until the -middle of May, and that the number of UFOs sighted would probably -increase correspondingly. - -He was right. Less than three weeks after the excitement in Cincinnati, -Venus inspired one of the most notorious “Unknowns” in the history of -saucerdom, one that evoked charges of fraud, falsehood, and conspiracy -on a grand scale. - - -_The Ryan Case_ - -An American Airlines plane had just taken off on a flight from Albany -to Syracuse, New York, on the night of April 8, 1956. The sky was -clear with a very thin overcast. At 10:15 E.S.T., while at about 6000 -feet over Schenectady, Captain Ryan and his first officer sighted -an unidentified flying object and reported it to Griffis Air Force -Base. Bright orange in color, it glowed ahead of the plane in the -northwestern sky. At first it seemed to be traveling at great speed, -800 to 1000 miles an hour. Then it appeared to slow down to the plane’s -speed, about 250 miles an hour, and thereafter kept a steady distance -ahead. The tower operators at the Albany and Watertown airports also -saw the object, as did the crews of four other plane flights, who -decided it was probably a star or a planet. - -The shift supervisor on duty in the tower at Griffis Air Force Base, -alerted by Captain Ryan, was able to observe the unknown through -binoculars. He described it as apparently round, larger than any star, -at an estimated altitude of 3000 or 4000 feet; when first sighted it -looked white with an orange tint but after about ten minutes changed -to orange with a red tint. During the twenty-three minutes he watched -it, the unknown slowly descended over the horizon. Interceptors from -Griffis Air Force Base were scrambled (Air Force jargon meaning to take -off and pursue as quickly as possible) at 10:48 and 10:52, but returned -to base without finding anything. Captain Ryan, having watched the -object during most of the flight, landed his plane at Syracuse and made -the customary report. - -The newspaper accounts that followed caused a short-lived flying-saucer -scare, but when officials from ATIC investigated they had no difficulty -in solving the mystery. The evidence was plain and unmistakable. The -object was the planet Venus. According to the reports of Captain Ryan -and the other observers in the air and on the ground, the object was -low in the northwest; estimates of its azimuth varied from 290 to 330 -degrees. A plot of the planet’s actual position at 10:20 P.M., when -the UFO was first picked up by the tower operator at Griffis Air Force -Base, showed that Venus was slightly above the horizon at an azimuth -of 301 degrees, and that it set at 304 degrees at about 10:42 (when -allowance is made for the effects of atmospheric refraction)--the time -the UFO disappeared from the view of the Griffis observers. Of the -four other commercial and military pilots who reported the object, all -described it as essentially stationary, and all positively identified -it as Venus. In confirmation, the glowing light reappeared the -following night at the same time and position. The intercepting jets -had not been able to find the alleged UFO because by the time they left -the ground, around 10:50, the planet had already set[IV-1]. - -There the matter should have ended. The puzzle was solved, and -forgotten by all but a few saucer addicts. Some twelve months later, -however, Major Donald Keyhoe reopened the case. As the new Director of -the National Investigations Committee for Aerial Phenomena, commonly -known as NICAP (see _Chapter_ XIII), he charged the Air Force with -concealing the true facts of the incident, and himself tried to get in -touch with Captain Ryan to obtain information to support the charge. -Receiving no answer to letters or telephone calls, Major Keyhoe then -gave his story to certain government agencies. Using as evidence a -newspaper account[IV-7] and interpretations of Captain Ryan’s remarks -in a TV interview, NICAP alleged that the object sighted on April 8, -1956, had been a UFO; that the captain, on orders from Griffis Air -Force Base, had abandoned his scheduled route to chase the unknown -craft, had lost it somewhere over Lake Ontario, had then turned back -and landed at Syracuse and, finally, that his flight log must have been -falsified to conceal the facts of this pursuit[IV-8]. - -The original question, the identity of an unknown object, was all -but forgotten. In letters, telegrams, and telephone calls to various -officials of American Airlines, Congress, the Air Force, the Civil -Aeronautics Board, and the Civil Aviation Authority, NICAP requested -an official investigation of the incident. The first requests evoked -no response but continued efforts were successful. After hints of -publicity and of possible senatorial interest, the beleaguered agencies -at last yielded to NICAP pressure and reopened the case. Captain Ryan, -a reliable officer with twenty-three years’ experience as a pilot, -was subjected to official interrogation. Busy government bureaus were -forced to invest further time, money, and energy to confirm facts that -had never been in doubt. - -To the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Captain Ryan replied that he had -observed an unidentified object, but that he had not altered the course -of his flight. He repeated this explicit statement to officials of the -Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) and of American Airlines. Airline records -provided independent confirmation. Since the scheduled time of the -flight between Albany and Syracuse had been 49 minutes, and the actual -time elapsed on the night in question had been 48 minutes, he could -not possibly have spent time in making a detour over Lake Ontario as -alleged. - -These declarations, according to NICAP, were worthless. They merely -proved that Captain Ryan had given false answers to his questioners; -that the government agencies involved knew the answers were false; and -that a gigantic conspiracy existed to suppress the truth. Among those -suggested as possible members[IV-8] were the American Airlines Company, -the Civil Aeronautics Board, the Civil Aviation Agency, the United -States Air Force, and possibly even the Central Intelligence Agency and -the National Security Council! - -Saucer publications still list this sighting of Venus as an Unknown. - - -_Venus as a Morning Star_ - -One of the “best” UFOs of the year 1950 appeared when Venus performed -in plain sight of the ATIC offices at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, -Dayton, Ohio[IV-2, p. 103]. - -About midmorning on March 8 a TWA plane, coming in to land at Dayton -municipal airport, was circling to get into the traffic pattern when -both pilot and copilot noticed an extremely bright light hovering in -the southeast. Much brighter and larger than a star, it appeared and -disappeared in the high, thick, scattered clouds. The tower operators, -who also saw it, immediately telephoned the Ohio Air National Guard -and officials at ATIC. Within minutes the UFO had attracted an audience -of exceptionally well-qualified observers. Air Force experts on -unidentified flying objects watched it from the ground, technicians -studied returns on the radar screens at the laboratory at Wright Field, -and the pilots of two hastily scrambled F-51s tried to intercept it. - -The radar operators, who reported returns from both UFO and pursuit -planes, called the pilots and vectored them in toward the target. Both -pilots could see the light at first, but when they had climbed to about -15,000 feet they found themselves in clouds so thick that neither -could see the other plane, and the unknown was no longer visible. -Since ground radar reported that the planes were getting closer to -the target, the pilots decided to continue, on instruments, but they -separated to avoid the danger of colliding with each other. In a few -seconds they were deep in dense cloud. Flying conditions were far worse -than they had expected and the planes were icing up fast. Nevertheless -the pilots kept climbing until ground radar advised them that they -were almost on target. Realizing that if a solid object actually were -ahead of them they would hit it before they could see it, the pilots -immediately descended to below the clouds and circled, hoping for a -break in the overcast, until ground radar reported that the target was -fading fast. The planes then landed. When the clouds broke momentarily, -after about an hour, the UFO was not visible. - -A conference took place at ATIC that afternoon to discuss the identity -of the mysterious light and the cause of the radar echoes. A check -showed that the position of the UFO had been identical with that of -Venus. The light, the conference concluded, had been Venus. One pilot -later disagreed, arguing that the light had not looked to him like a -planet and that if the object had been Venus it should have appeared, -but did not, at the same time on the following day. But the weather -conditions the first day would have distorted the image and made it -unlike the pale light of Venus occasionally visible in the daytime. It -was not visible at all the following day because of different weather -conditions. - -The radar returns, the investigators found, had come from the ice-laden -clouds and were unrelated to the light. Both planes had encountered -unexpectedly severe icing conditions which increased as they -approached the center of the cloud. Radar, tracking their course during -these moments, had shown the planes approaching close to the unknown -target. All the evidence, the radar experts agreed, indicated that the -unknown target was ice[IV-1]. - - -_Venus as an Evening Star_ - -In the spring of 1959 Venus again, this time in the evening, caused -reports of flying saucers. At 6:20 P.M. on March 13, a clear evening -with visibility of about fifteen miles, an unidentified flying object -was sighted in the western sky near Duluth, Minnesota[IV-1]. Witnesses -described its shape as tubular or round and its color as red, orange, -green, or white. Two interceptors of the Air Defense Command were -scrambled to investigate and headed for the object at top speeds, but -they could get no closer and eventually gave up the chase and landed. -Military personnel at ground stations and in the air observed the -object visually and picked up radar returns; it disappeared, after -about thirty minutes, by fading from sight. Although this spectacular -unknown had seemed to keep pace with the aircraft, at times rushing -toward the planes on a collision course and at other times reversing -direction and racing away, all witnesses agreed that the object had -remained at a magnetic bearing of approximately 300 degrees. - -The radar screen at the ground station had been photographed and -the film was forwarded to ATIC at Dayton. Analysis showed that the -echoes had not come from a real target but were “angels” caused by -interference (see _Chapter_ VIII). Some operators had reported sharp -contacts, others fuzzy; on some sets the target had faded suddenly, -on others it rushed off the scope at incredible speeds. Contact was -intermittent, for short periods of from ten seconds to a minute, and -each new contact gave a different position for the target. - -At the time of the sighting Venus was just on the western horizon, at -the same position occupied by the unknown, and probably would have -been invisible except for the refraction by the earth’s atmosphere. -Layers of air with different temperatures had produced the apparent -motion and changes in color. The object had maintained the same size -and relative position during the entire period of observation; it -disappeared by fading from sight, sinking farther below the horizon. -The following night, under similar atmospheric conditions, the object -reappeared in the same position. The unknown was positively identified -as Venus. - -Venus was again reported as a UFO on the night of October 19, 1959, -in Korea. An observer reported a crescent-shaped silver object moving -very slowly toward the west. Observing it for three hours and twenty -minutes through the telescope of a transit, he obtained very exact data -on the bearing and altitude, which provided the facts required for -identification. The object moved westward at a rate of approximately 12 -degrees an hour, a rate close to the rotational velocity of the earth -and the apparent rotational velocity of the stars. Venus at the time -occupied exactly the same position as the object, and went below the -horizon shortly after the reported sighting[IV-1]. - - -_The Rotating Lights of Japan_ - -One of the most famous exploits of Venus took place over Japan and -Korea in December 1952 and January 1953. The resulting UFOs, publicized -as “The Rotating Lights of Japan,” were automatically identified as -spaceships by saucerians. Noting the similarity to the “foo balls” -often seen by airmen during World War II, however, Dr. Menzel concluded -that the lights were probably a type of foo ball, “an exceptional -mirage.”[IV-9, p. 96] The rotating cycle of colors suggested that -the atmosphere was acting to break up and disperse the component -colors of a luminous image, displaced from its true position. Without -precise information on the time, position, and direction of motion of -the unknown, this theory could not then be substantiated. During the -preparation of this book, however, the authors were able to examine the -original data on file at ATIC and to obtain the facts necessary for a -complete solution. - -The drama began on December 29, when UFOs were reported at many -points over northern Honshu, the main island of Japan, and continued -with similar sightings, particularly on January 9 and January 21. -On the evening of December 29 the pilot of an F-84-G plane, engaged -in local-area night flying, overheard a radio-telephone conversation -between another plane and a radar station on the ground reporting -an unusual light in the western sky. Although the sky was thinly -overcast at 8000 to 10,000 feet, he was far above the clouds, flying -in brilliant moonlight with a visibility of at least forty miles. At -7:48 P.M. local time, while at 27,000 feet, he observed an unidentified -object above and almost due west of his plane. Turning off all his -lights to make sure that the object was not merely a reflection of his -own canopy, he climbed after the unknown and kept it in view for three -minutes, then lost it briefly. He soon located it again at 35,000 feet, -when he seemed to be level with the object and tried to close in on -it. During this second sighting he observed it for about five minutes -before the light disappeared in the west. - -The pilot was a man of unusual experience, in command of a fighter -escort wing, and well aware of the illusions a flyer can experience -at night. He was also a remarkably accurate and resourceful observer, -so that his report to Intelligence investigators is a model of exact -statement. If all such reports were similarly precise and complete, -few UFOs would remain unidentified and the civilian saucer groups -would have to disband (see _Chapter_ XIII). Carefully separating what -he observed from what he concluded, the pilot stated that the object -looked larger than the stars or any planet; he assumed that it was -circular, but could not determine the actual shape. He could not -determine whether the object was silent or noisy because the noise of -his own motors would have prevented his hearing any sound from the -unknown. The object seemed to show a cluster of lights, red, white, and -green, which slowly rotated in a counterclockwise direction from east -to west; one complete cycle of revolution required a time estimated -at four to eight seconds. The shifting of the three colors during the -cycle resembled the rotating colors in some jukeboxes, and the effect -was phenomenal. “As these colors rotated in the body of the object, at -times the entire body was one solid color, either white, green, or red, -but in the process of completing a revolution the body was frequently -fractionally red, white, or white-green, plus the other possible -combinations of the three colors.” Also there seemed to be three beams -of white light radiating out from the main body in straight shafts -which, unlike the colors, did not change their relative positions but -remained constant at positions of roughly 11:00, 5:00, and 7:00. No -phenomenon that might be an exhaust was observed. As to motion and -behavior, the object seemed to travel exactly parallel to the plane -and maintained a constant distance in spite of the pilot’s attempts to -intercept it at speeds of around 500 miles an hour. At no time did it -execute any maneuvers except for a gradual change of direction during -the two observations. The sighting ended when the lights vanished in -the west[IV-1]. These rotating lights were also seen by the crew of -an F-94 interceptor who watched them for about forty minutes, by the -crew of a B-26 bomber who watched them for about seven minutes, and by -various ground observers. - -To make a positive identification, the investigator must know the -weather conditions, the bearing of the observing aircraft, and the -position of the object. Atmospheric conditions were found to be -conducive to the formation of mirages. At the time of the first -sighting on December 29, the observing plane was headed slightly to the -east of north; the UFO was in the west, apparently traveling north on a -course parallel with that of the plane. After the pilot lost sight of -the object, he circled and hunted and was flying slightly east of south -when he again picked up the object, which was still in the west. - -A check of the astronomical situation showed that the sun had set about -three hours before the sighting. Venus was following roughly three -hours behind the sun and was extremely brilliant, with a magnitude -of nearly -4.0. At 7:48 P.M., when the pilot sighted the unknown, -the planet was about 3 degrees above the western horizon. When Venus -finally sank beneath the horizon and disappeared, the “unknown” also -vanished. - -The similar UFOs reported from Japan during the same period, on January -9 and January 21, 1953, were also mirages of the planet Venus. The -cases of “The Rotating Lights of Japan” in the Air Force file on UFOs -have now been shifted from the category “Unknown” to the category -“Solved.” In many other UFO cases of the “rotating lights” variety, the -Air Force has positively identified the unknown as the planet Jupiter. - - -_UFOs and the Opposition of Mars_ - -Venus is not the only heavenly body to simulate a flying saucer. -Jupiter and even Mercury, the smallest of the planets, have inspired -their share of UFOs. Mars, which can also be very bright, has -frequently been reported as a spaceship. - -On June 21, 1952, an F-47 aircraft was on routine patrol over the -Atomic Energy Commission installation at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, when at -10:58 P.M. a spotter from the Ground Observer Corps informed the pilot -that a slow-moving craft was moving in the area at very high altitude. -At about the same time the pilot observed a blinking white light, of -no definite shape and with no exhaust or trail, apparently making -passes at him. For the next eighteen minutes the pilot tried vainly to -intercept the unknown. The plane was at 15,000 feet, moving at about -250 knots. As the pilot turned to meet the pass, the UFO would pull up -some 4000 to 5000 feet above the plane and then move in again. When -the plane reached 22,000 feet, the UFO appeared to make a final dive -from 28,000 feet, pulled back up to its previous altitude, and then -disappeared. The pilot’s reaction is indicated by his answer to one of -the routine questions on the Air Force report form: “Did you stop at -any time during the sighting?” His reply read: “Ha Ha!” - -Investigating the incident, officials from ATIC at first suspected -that the object might have been a balloon, released as a hoax; only -a few weeks earlier a crank had launched a flight of balloons near -Oak Ridge and had been caught. But after interviewing the witnesses, -the investigators concluded that the UFO was far more probably the -planet Mars. As so often happens, however, they could not convert the -“probable” into a “positive” identification because they lacked one -essential fact: the bearing of the aircraft[IV-1]. - -Some flying-saucer enthusiasts consider Mars as the probable home port -of many spaceships, which allegedly visit the earth in particularly -large numbers when Mars is in opposition--the point in its path that is -nearest the earth; these ships supposedly seize the chance to hop over -to earth when the distance between the two planets is at a minimum. - -It is to be hoped that the Martians, if any, are more competent -navigators than the terrestrial saucerians who propose this theory. -No sensible Martian would plan a journey scheduled to land him on -earth during the few weeks when the two planets are closest. Traveling -between Mars and earth is not like jumping across a mountain stream -where the banks remain stationary: the jumper, of course, chooses the -narrowest part of the stream and leaps across in a straight path. But -in space travel both planets are moving; they travel in elliptical -orbits of different sizes and at different speeds. To reach earth, -the Martian, too, must get into an elliptical orbit of a size and -shape that will eventually intersect the earth’s orbit. According to -calculations by terrestrial rocket experts, the path that requires -the least fuel is about 735 million miles long--some twenty times the -distance between the two planets when they are closest. To follow this -course, which takes 260 days of travel, the Martian must leave 260 days -before the day that his ship and the earth will converge and meet at -a particular position in space. Therefore he plans to blast off at a -time when earth in its orbit is 76 degrees of arc behind Mars in its -orbit (see Figure 8). By the time he lands on earth, the planet Mars is -lagging 44 degrees of arc behind the earth[IV-10]. - -Any increase in UFO reports that may occur when Mars is in opposition -should be attributed not to spaceships but to the heightened brilliance -of the planet itself glowing in the night sky. - - -_The Gorman “Dogfight”_ - -One of the most puzzling of the classic saucer mysteries began on -the evening of October 1, 1948, when George F. Gorman, manager of a -construction company and a lieutenant in the North Dakota Air National -Guard, was returning to Fargo, N.D., from a cross-country practice -flight in an F-51 fighter. About 9:00, Lieutenant Gorman called the -control tower at the local airport for landing instructions, and asked -the identity of a moving light that was blinking on and off in the air -below him. Informed that a Piper Cub was coming in from the south, he -continued to circle, and at 9:05 again called in to report that he -could see the Cub below him at about 1000 feet. He could also see an -unidentified light moving rapidly at about the same altitude. - -[Illustration: _Figure 8._ Orbit of spaceship. Mars_{1} and earth_{1}, -positions of planets when ship leaves Mars; Mars_{2} and earth_{2}, -positions when ship lands on earth.] - -The assistant traffic controller then walked to the south window of -the tower and looked out. He could see the Cub in the air and, a -little above it, a clear white light. The light was moving swiftly to -the north, then shifted and continued in a straight line toward the -northwest. After watching it for several seconds, he returned to his -post. A few minutes later Gorman called the tower for the third time to -say that he was going to try to close in on the unknown. The traffic -controller then stepped to the south window of the tower. Through his -binoculars he could see a light moving rapidly over the field in a -straight line toward the northwest. It had no particular shape and was -merely a clear white light about the size of a plane’s tail lamp. After -a few seconds he returned and resumed communication with Gorman. - -The pilot of the Cub glimpsed the light briefly as he was landing his -plane. He supposed it to be the tail light of another ship going very -fast in a straight line in a westerly direction, and was puzzled by -the fact that an army plane seemed to be pursuing it. After landing -he delivered some bottles of Coca-Cola to the tower operators and, -overhearing the conversation between them and Gorman, stepped to the -balcony at the southeast corner of the tower to see what was happening. -From there he could see the light going west, with the army plane after -it. The light shifted briefly to the southeast but almost immediately -resumed its northwest course and disappeared after a few seconds. - -Lieutenant Gorman, meanwhile, had begun a weird “dogfight.” The UFO -seemed to be at an altitude of about 1000 feet, was traveling about 250 -miles an hour, and was blinking off and on. As he approached, the light -banked to the left. Gorman dived after it but could not catch up. The -light then began to climb in a rapid turn. Attempting to turn with it, -Gorman blacked out temporarily from the excessive speed. - -Continuing the chase, this time at 5000 to 7000 feet Gorman noticed -that the light was now traveling fast, apparently faster than the F-51 -could go, so he began trying to cut it off in turns with his fighter -at full power. As the object circled to the left, Gorman cut back to -the right for a head-on pass. When collision seemed inevitable he dived -and the light seemed to pass over his canopy at a distance of about -500 feet. According to the description he later gave the Air Force, -the unknown at this closest approach seemed to be a round white light, -somewhat flattened, from six to eight inches in diameter--about a -quarter the apparent size of the full moon. Gorman then made a climbing -turn. When he could see the light again it suddenly reversed direction -and headed straight for the plane, attempting to ram. It was no longer -blinking off and on but was a steady white. Just before collision it -pulled up and Gorman, too, pulled up. The light went straight up, with -Gorman following until, at 14,000 feet, his plane went into a power -stall while the object circled some 2000 feet above him. As he resumed -the battle, the light seemed to retreat, then attack. Gorman dodged and -circled to the left to get in position for another intercept. Finally, -when these maneuvers had taken him some twenty-five miles southeast of -Fargo, he was at 14,000 feet with the object below him at 11,000 feet. -He dived after it. The UFO turned and started a head-on pass, then -broke it off, climbed straight up, and disappeared. The time was 9:27. -Gorman returned to the Fargo airport and landed, convinced that some -intelligence had been controlling the actions of the unknown[IV-1]. - -With the memory of the Mantell tragedy (p. 33) and the Chiles-Whitted -sighting (see _Chapter_ V, p. 109) still fresh in mind, officials from -ATIC arrived at Fargo in less than twenty-four hours to investigate -this new incident [IV-2, p. 63 ff.]. They carefully questioned -Lieutenant Gorman and the three other witnesses, but could find no -obvious explanation. No other aircraft had been in the neighborhood -at the time of the sighting. The weather had been clear, visibility -unlimited, with some auroral activity in the northeast. When tested -with a control group of five other F-51s that had flown during the -same period, Gorman’s plane showed no more radioactivity than did the -control group--the slightly higher amount shown by all planes after -flight. Gorman’s report was confusing, in parts, and reconstructing -the exact sequence of maneuvers by UFO and plane proved impossible. -There were almost as many theories offered in explanation as there were -investigators, but eventually a reasonable solution did appear. - -A lighted weather balloon had been released from the weather station -at Fargo at 8:50, ten minutes before Lieutenant Gorman’s first call. -As observed from the station, the balloon had traveled west and then -northwest. At 9:00 it would have been near the airport about where the -unknown light was first reported. A balloon could well have accounted -for the events described in the first phases of the incident, but less -well for those in the last. Officially, however, the cause was listed -as a lighted weather balloon[IV-2, p. 67]--an answer that was not -entirely satisfactory. - -[Illustration: PLATE I - -_a._ "Grindstone" clouds over Mount Rainier. (CHAP. II)] - -[Illustration: PLATE I - -_b._ A "stack of plates" near the Maritime Alps northeast of -Marseilles. (CHAP. II)] - -[Illustration: PLATE II - -_a._ Kite with lantern photographed at Curaçao, B.W.I. (CHAP. III)] - -[Illustration: PLATE II - -_b._ UFOs over Kentucky, 10:35 P.M., CST, July 7, 1947. Jet trails? -Bolides? (CHAP. III)] - -[Illustration: PLATE III - -_a._ Meteor trail. (CHAP. V)] - -[Illustration: PLATE III - -_b._ Fireball over Puerto Rico, January 12, 1947. (CHAP. V)] - -[Illustration: PLATE IV - -_a._ Coast Guard photograph of UFOs over Salem, Massachusetts, July 16, -1952. (CHAP. VI)] - -[Illustration: PLATE IV - -_b._ UFO near the village of Arbleterre, in northern France, October 2, -1954. (CHAP. VI)] - -[Illustration: PLATE IV - -_c._ Radar "ghosts" at Salina, Kansas, September 10, 1956. (CHAP. VIII)] - - -_Only a Balloon?_ - -A review of the evidence, made by the authors during the preparation of -this book, emphasized some puzzling inconsistencies. Lieutenant Gorman -had had the UFO in view for about twenty-seven minutes. During the -first five or ten minutes it had traveled horizontally at low altitude -in a fairly steady course. Then it had suddenly changed tactics, had -climbed to high altitude, turned, darted in and out, and performed both -evasive and aggressive actions. The three witnesses on the ground, -however, did not see the UFO perform _any_ of these combat maneuvers. -It had been traveling steadily north and northwest and had disappeared -from view ten or fifteen minutes before the aerial dogfight ended. - -These differences strongly suggested that two unknowns were involved in -the sighting. According to this theory, the light seen by the ground -observers was the weather balloon; the light first seen over the -airfield by Gorman was also the weather balloon. His adversary during -the major part of the dogfight was a second unknown, not a physical -object but some kind of optical phenomenon, very probably a mirage -of the planet Jupiter. The reconstruction based on this theory would -account for all the puzzling aspects of the case. - -As first described by Lieutenant Gorman and by the three witnesses on -the ground, the light was small, bright, and clear; no structure was -visible; it made no noise and left no trail or exhaust. It was south -of the control tower, was traveling horizontally west and northwest, -seemingly at high speed, on a straight course, at low altitude. On -these points all the witnesses agreed. - -They did not agree in their estimates of its actual distance -and height--a fact that is not surprising when we consider the -circumstances. The night was clear and cloudless. It was also dark. The -sun had set more than two hours earlier and there was no moonlight (new -moon on October 2). On a dark night, the height and distance (and hence -the speed) of a moving light of unknown size are notoriously difficult -to estimate. According to Lieutenant Gorman, the light when he first -saw it was about 1000 feet above the ground and 1000 yards--a little -more than ½ mile--from his plane. The three men on the ground saw the -UFO, for a few seconds, at different times during a period of less -than ten minutes. Like Gorman, they were experienced airmen but they -differed from him and from each other in their estimates. According -to the assistant traffic controller, the altitude and distance from -the control tower were 2000–2500 feet and 1–2 miles. According to the -traffic controller, they were 4000–5000 feet and ½ mile; according to -the Cub’s pilot, they were 5000–6000 feet and 1 mile. - -In spite of the discrepancies, these estimates are in general agreement -and, together with the details of the UFOs appearance, are consistent -with the description of the weather balloon that had been released at -8:50, about ten or fifteen minutes before the UFO was sighted from the -ground. The balloon carried a small white light, moved west and then -northwest, was at low altitude and slowly climbing, and would soon have -disappeared from the view of ground observers. - -The object that Lieutenant Gorman first saw and pursued was also the -balloon, climbing and turning. As it bobbed and swayed in the air -currents it would have seemed to blink off and on, just as he reported. -Underestimating its height and distance and overestimating its velocity -as did the pilot in the Cuban dogfight (p. 42), he tried to follow its -apparent climbing turn and, as he stated, blacked out briefly because -of his excessive speed. During this interval, short as it may have -been, he of course lost track of the object. Shortly afterward, when -the UFO passed over his canopy and he dived, he again lost sight of the -object. - -When he resumed the chase he supposed that he had located the same -object he had been following earlier--but the evidence suggests that -he had picked up a different target. The unknown was going much faster -than before, was at a much higher altitude, and shone with a steady -brilliance instead of blinking off and on. In such a tense situation -he could understandably have mistaken one strange light for another. -Pursuing an apparently hostile unknown, less than a year after the -still mysterious death of Mantell in a similar encounter, he might -justifiably have been frightened. - -The most probable source of the second light is the planet Jupiter. The -sun had set at 6:24 P.M. Following some three hours behind the sun, -the planet had a magnitude of -1.7 and was thus brighter than Sirius, -the brightest star. Shortly after 9:10 when the UFO began its violent -maneuvers (the exact time is not known), Jupiter was very low in the -southwest sky, between two and three degrees above the horizon, at -a bearing of about 231 degrees. The UFO was also attacking from the -southwest, as is shown by Gorman’s tactics: in trying to cut it off in -circles to the left, he gradually moved to the southeast. - -The weather bureau records for that evening, obtained from radiosonde -observations, show that temperature inversions existed both near the -ground and at higher altitude. Thus conditions were ideal to produce -a furiously twinkling planetary mirage. When a planet is close to the -horizon this twinkling, together with the defocusing action of the -earth’s atmosphere, can spread out the image so that it looks huge, -with an apparent diameter as great as ten minutes of arc. Under such -conditions, both the size and the intensity of the light fluctuate. -When they diminish, the object seems to be racing away from the -observer; when they increase, it seems to be rushing directly towards -him on a collision course. The peculiar lens-like action of the -atmosphere makes the image seem to be, not at infinity, but only a few -hundred feet away from the observer. - -Seen through the distorting atmospheric lens, the image of Jupiter -could have performed exactly as Gorman described: it would have -darted back and forth, seemed to attack, retreat, and carry out the -“controlled” maneuvers that actually depended partly on the movement of -the plane itself. Gorman apparently assumed that he was dealing with a -material object (as indeed he was in the beginning), and therefore did -not consider the possibility that he was seeing merely an optical image. - -The geographical situation would have helped produce the illusion. -Fargo lies at an elevation of about 900 feet and the land rises -gradually to the west. Due west is Bismarck at 1670 feet. To the south -lies a series of buttes, some of them as high as 3500 feet. Thus in the -southwest where Jupiter was setting and where the UFO attacked from, -the buttes would repeatedly have cut off the planet from view as Gorman -maneuvered, so that the image would have seemed to race in and out and -perform evasive actions, just as did the mirage of Sirius in Alaska (p. -60). Since Jupiter was very low, however, the buttes served to conceal -it from the observers on the ground. - -[Illustration: _Figure 9._ Positions of refracted image of Jupiter from -9:00 to 9:29 P.M. at Fargo, North Dakota, on October 1, 1948. Azimuth -measured north through east.] - -The times involved provide the last piece of the puzzle. The dogfight -ended at about 9:27. The time of the geometrical setting of Jupiter -was 9:25. The usual lag due to refraction is between two and three -minutes (see Figure 9). The planet therefore remained visible for about -two minutes longer. The image actually sank below the horizon and -disappeared from view between 9:27 and 9:28, the same time that the -UFO climbed straight up into the sky and disappeared. When Jupiter -vanished, the unknown also vanished and did not return. - -Absolute proof of this solution is of course impossible. Nevertheless, -the description of the UFO, its behavior, its direction, its time of -disappearance--all are consistent with its identification as Jupiter. -The Gorman case might reasonably be removed from the “Balloon?” -category and listed as “Balloon plus planetary mirage.” - - -_Jupiter through a Jet Trail_ - -Venus, Mars, and Jupiter seen under unusual conditions can mystify even -the most hardheaded witness. Unrecognized air turbulence and increased -scattering of the light can easily create the illusion of a flying -saucer. - -An ex-army man, a trained observer with a good knowledge of physics and -optics, reports the following unnerving experience[IV-11]. - -“On January 30, 1954, my buddy and I had been fox hunting in -southwestern Indiana. We hunted until well after sundown and headed for -the car. As we neared it, a jet plane thundered through the darkening -sky, from north to south. Placing game and guns in the car, I walked -around it to see if the tires were OK. Happening to glance skyward, -I let out a yell. There it was, and no mistaking it. A flying saucer -blazing in the sky. A real illuminated spaceship. Only it wasn’t -moving, just hanging in the sky. Football-shaped, about as long as the -apparent diameter of the full moon, it showed red, yellow, and bluish -green. [Here he sketched a football shape, glowing red knobs placed -at the two ends, yellow lights girdling the middle, and yellow and -green arcs curving between the two ends (see Figure 10).] I carry an -eight-power field glass when hunting and I immediately trained this on -the celestial wonder. The result was weird. It seemed to be pulsating -with a quivering, twinkling light. We watched it for some five minutes, -trying to figure out what we were seeing. Then the spaceship began -to get smaller, simply reducing in size without moving. Smaller and -smaller it became and in another five minutes it suddenly contracted -into a planet--Jupiter, I believe it was. [Jupiter was in the eastern -sky 50 to 60 degrees above the horizon.] - -[Illustration: _Figure 10._ Witness’s sketch of Jupiter seen through a -jet trail.] - -“When we realized what we were watching we began to try to figure -out the ‘why.’ Suddenly we realized we were looking directly through -the path of the plane at the planet and our best guess was that the -atmospheric turbulence and temperature change caused by the passage of -the jet was to blame for the strange aberration we had witnessed. And -we wondered if refraction of the golden light could cause the reds, -greens, and blues. Since neither of us uses snake-bite medicine in any -form, we figured our observations were about as substantial as our -feeble scientific understanding would permit. - -“But anyway, I found out how people may see flying saucers and be -perfectly honest in their incomplete observations. Had a person -inclined to the supernatural taken a good look, jumped in his car, -and headed for home at high speed, he would steadfastly have believed -he had seen a flying saucer which was evidently observing the earth -preparatory to an attack from outer space.” - -[IV-1] Air Force Files. - -[IV-2] Ruppelt, E. J. _The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects._ -Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1956. - -[IV-3] Tacker, L. J. _Flying Saucers and the U. S. Air Force._ -Princeton: D. Van Nostrand Co., 1960, p. 59. - -[IV-4] Payne-Gaposchkin, C. _Introduction to Astronomy._ Englewood -Cliffs, N.J.; Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1954. - -[IV-5] Gann, E. K. _Fate Is The Hunter._ Crest Reprint, New York: -Fawcett Publications, Inc., 1962, p. 172. - -[IV-6] Case 151, CRIFO _Orbit_, Vol. III (April 6, 1956). - -[IV-7] Buffalo _Evening News_, April 10, 1956. - -[IV-8] Keyhoe, D. E. _Flying Saucers: Top Secret._ New York: G. P. -Putnam’s Sons, 1960. - -[IV-9] Menzel, D. H. _Flying Saucers._ Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard -University Press, 1953. - -[IV-10] Ley, W., and von Braun, W. _The Exploration of Mars._ New York: -The Viking Press, 1956. - -[IV-11] Main, O. Personal correspondence. - - - - -_Chapter_ V - -OUT OF THE SKY: METEORS AND FIREBALLS - - -About one o’clock in the afternoon on November 30, 1954, a spectacular -meteor flared across the southeastern part of the United States and -exploded. Many persons in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi saw the -bright flash high in the sky, followed by a trail of smoke, and heard -three violent detonations. Over the town of Sylacauga, Alabama, a -nine-pound fragment of the falling meteoric body crashed through the -roof of a house, bruised the left arm and hip of the unlucky resident, -and came to rest on the floor. Members of the American Meteor Society -collected detailed descriptions of the event from many witnesses and -added this daylight fireball to the official list of observed meteorite -falls from which meteorites are recovered[V-1, p. 128]. - -UFO addicts, however, apparently regarded both the meteor and its -fragments as unnatural phenomena, implied some doubt that the fragment -was really a meteorite, and characterized the incident as peculiar[V-2]. - -To the astronomer who specializes in the study of meteors the only -peculiar aspect of the episode is that saucer publications list so -few mysterious UFOs for that particular week when similar spectacular -fireballs were almost a commonplace in the southeast states. On -November 29 a meteor flew over Alabama at 5:30 P.M., and about two -hours later another with a long trail soared over Florida. On November -30 at 5:00 P.M., a few hours after the fall at Sylacauga, another -bright fireball flashed over Alabama. Shortly before midnight the -same night a meteor flamed over North Carolina, so brilliant that its -copper-green light illuminated the interior of cars on the highway; -blue-green fire shot out above the treetops, changed to magnesium -white, and then slowly faded. Detailed observations of all these -appeared in the scientific journal _Meteoritics_[V-1, p. 128]. - - -_Stones from Heaven_ - -Until roughly a hundred and fifty years ago meteors and meteorites -had the status of cosmic orphans, unacknowledged members of the -astronomical family. Few persons doubted the existence of the fixed -stars, the solar planets, comets, or even of “new stars” or novae, but -they rejected a natural explanation for meteors and interpreted them -as falling stars, flying dragons, or fountains of fire in the sky. -Most astronomers as well as laymen laughed at the recurrent idea that -“stones from heaven” could fall on the earth. Then in 1803 the French -scientist J. B. Biot described an extraordinary rain of meteorites -that fell at L’Aigle on April 26[V-3]; he convinced the French Academy -of Sciences that the stones had indeed pelted from the sky during the -great meteor display. Meteoritics is thus a relatively young science. -Much remains to be learned about these cosmic visitors, but certain -basic facts have been established[V-4]. - -Meteors enter the earth’s atmosphere continually, by day as well as by -night, and they show great variety. Some are so brilliant that they are -visible even in broad daylight. Some are so faint that even in darkness -they can be seen only through a telescope. Others, still fainter, can -be detected only by radar specially designed for this purpose. Because -of the friction created when they penetrate the earth’s atmosphere, -most meteors vaporize and vanish many miles above the ground. We see -them as only bright streaks of light, quickly extinguished. If the -meteoric body is large enough, has the right chemical constitution, -and enters the atmosphere at a favorable angle and velocity, some of -it may survive the journey and fall to the earth as a meteorite. A -distinct odor sometimes accompanies the fall--the smell of sulphur, -onions, or cyanide. About 40,000 tons of meteoritic material fall on -the earth each day, most of it in the form of fine dust. The object -may be a chunk of metal or stone the size of a pebble or a boulder, or -it may be a mass weighing several tons, so enormous that it gouges out -a crater at the place where it hits and comes to rest far beneath the -earth’s surface. Some meteors, fortunately extremely rare, apparently -can strike the earth and devastate a large area but, like the wind, -leave behind no physical trace. According to present theory, members -of a regular shower are probably remnants of comets, which have an -icy structure, and the minute bits of frozen debris vaporize in a -flash of light high in the atmosphere. Meteors that survive to reach -the earth as meteorites are thought to be fragments of asteroids, or -tiny planets. Meteorites vary so widely in their physical and chemical -structure that they require a complex system of classification. -Nevertheless the specialist can distinguish between a meteorite and -earthly rocks and stones by laboratory tests[V-5]. - - -_Meteor Streams and Showers_ - -Any clear night displays its quota of meteors. But at certain times, -when the earth happens to collide with a stream of cosmic debris -moving in an elliptical orbit, a shower of meteors takes place. (For -a list of the major night meteor streams, see TABLE I.) Most meteor -streams probably result from the breakup of comets; if the debris is -distributed uniformly in the comet’s orbit, a meteor shower occurs -each time the earth crosses the orbit. For example, the Perseids, -fragments of Comet 1862 III, have reappeared every August for more -than 1200 years, and the Leonids, debris of Comet Temple (1866 I), -regularly return around the third week in November. Like the Taurids, -another dependable stream, the Leonids are notable for their brilliant -fireballs, which have deposited some of the largest meteorites ever -found on the earth. - -Some regular showers produce great numbers of meteors at intervals of -several years. For nearly a millennium, A.D. 902 to 1866, a marked -increase in the number of Leonids occurred every thirty-three years. -The display in 1833 was one of the most spectacular in history, and -witnesses said that the “stars were falling” as thick as snowflakes. -Before the scheduled major shower of 1899, however, the main stream -was deflected by passing close to the planet Jupiter and the periodic -spectacle did not take place. Since then, the Leonids have been -considered a “lost” stream, but some members of the shower have -continued to appear each November. On November 16 and 17, 1961, they -produced an unexpectedly awesome display with many brilliant fireballs. - - -TABLE I - -MAJOR METEOR STREAMS - - ---------------+-------------+--------+------------------+------------ - _Name of | _Dates of |_Date of| _Parent comet_ | _Remarks_ - stream_ | occurrence_ |maximum_| | - ---------------+-------------+--------+------------------+------------ - Quadrantids |Jan. 1–4 |Jan. 3 |1861 I |Observed - | | | | longer than - | | | | 100 years. - | | | | - Lyrids |April 19–23 |April 21| |Observed - | | | | longer than - η Aquarids |May 2–5 |May 4 |Halley (1835 III) | 2500 years. - | | | | - δ Aquarids |July 14-Aug. |July 30 | | - | 19 | | | - | | | | - ι Aquarids |July 16-Aug. |July 30 | | - | 25 | | | - | | | | - Perseids |July 29-Aug. |Aug. 12 |1862 III |Observed - | 17 | | | more than - | | | | 1200 years. - | | | | - α Capricornids |Aug. 1–21 |Aug. 17 |1948 n | - | | | | - Cygnids |Aug. 9–22 |Aug. 17 | | - | | | | - Taurids |Sep. 15-Dec. |Nov. 12 |Encke (1957 c) | - | 2 | | | - | | | | - Draconids |Oct. 9–10 |Oct. 10 |Giacobini-Zinner |13-year - | | | (1946 V) | period; - | | | | great - | | | | showers in - | | | | 1933, 1946; - | | | | none in - | | | | 1959. - | | | | - Orionids |Oct. 18–26 |Oct. 22 |Halley (1835 III) | - | | | | - Leonids |Nov. 14–20 |Nov. 17 |Temple-Tuttle |Observed - | | | (1866 I) | since - | | | | A.D. 902. - | | | | - Geminids |Dec. 7–15 |Dec. 14 | | - | | | | - Ursids |Dec. 17–24 |Dec. 22 |Temple (1939 X) | - -The close approach of a comet sometimes causes a fantastic shower -of “shooting stars,” and hundreds or even thousands may be counted -in a single night. At the approach of the debris of Comet Biela on -November 27, 1885, some 75,000 meteors were visible from a single -place during a period of an hour. Irregularly occurring or sporadic -meteors not associated with a known comet also occur and pelt the earth -unexpectedly. - - -_The Green Fireballs_ - -On the evening of September 18, 1954, a group of astronomers and their -wives from the observatory at Sacramento Peak, New Mexico, were having -a picnic at the White Sands National Monument, near Alamogordo. In this -great desert of pure white gypsum the air is extremely hot during the -daytime but cools to a pleasant warmth after sunset. Supper finished, -the picnickers had taken off shoes and stockings to wade in the soft -warm sand. By 8:30 it was dark and some of the astronomers had already -left but others (including Dr. Menzel) had lingered to watch the stars, -which stand out sharply in the clear skies over the desert. - -Suddenly, far to the north, appeared an enormous green fireball. Of -blinding brilliance, it was moving slowly and majestically from east to -west in a substantially horizontal path about seven degrees above the -horizon, leaving behind a luminous trail that persisted for at least -fifteen minutes. At about the same time thousands of other persons on -the ground in New Mexico and Colorado, as well as the crews of several -planes in flight, were observing the fireball. It passed over a crowded -football stadium in Santa Fe, interfered with radio and TV transmission -as it appeared over Albuquerque, and over Denver turned night into day. -A United Airlines pilot at about 15,000 feet near Laramie, Wyoming, -saw the blue-green ball crossing his course and for some ten minutes -observed the luminous cloud it left behind[V-6]. At almost the same -instant, the fireball was sighted in the Bay of San Francisco, 1000 -miles away. One publication cited this meteor as two separate UFOs, -one flying over San Francisco, the other over New Mexico and the -Southwest[V-2]. - -When telephone calls swamped the newspaper offices, reporters -interviewed Dr. Lincoln La Paz of the Institute of Meteoritics at the -University of New Mexico. Although he had not observed this particular -specimen, he had seen similar green fireballs a few years earlier and -he commented that this was no ordinary meteor but something unusual. A -new wave of UFO excitement began to sweep the country. Were mysterious -machines from outer space again patrolling New Mexico? - -The astronomers who had admired the fireball at White Sands were -amazed at the public reaction. As professionals who had spent their -lives in observing and analyzing astronomical phenomena, they agreed -that the object had been unusual in its slow movement, its color, and -its brilliance. But an unusual meteor is still only a meteor, not a -spaceship, and they easily recognized it as a green fireball of the -type that had appeared over the Southwest a few years earlier. - -The first epidemic of green fireballs had begun in early December -1948, and for nearly two months the brilliantly burning objects had -appeared almost every night in the skies over New Mexico[V-7, p. 71]. -Their apparent collision course startled plane crews in the air, and -their steady, seemingly purposeful motion frightened observers on the -ground. The fireballs showed a family resemblance in their bright-green -color, their great size and brilliance, their level flight path, their -noiseless disappearance, and their failure to leave material fragments -on the ground. - -New Mexico was a particularly sensitive area, studded with military -bases and research installations carrying out vital work in ballistics, -guided missiles, atomic energy, and space science in general. Since the -unusual meteors seemed to be concentrating on New Mexico, Air Force -Intelligence had to face the question: Were the fireballs natural -astronomical phenomena or were they experimental guided missiles from -another country, perhaps Russia? - -After consulting Dr. La Paz and hearing his evaluation of the evidence, -the Air Force felt growing concern. Perhaps unconsciously influenced by -the general hysteria of the past year, Dr. La Paz concluded that the -objects were not meteors but must be “something unusual” because they -differed from “normal” meteors in their color, trajectory, velocity, -size, brilliance, and apparent lack of fragments. - -With very little knowledge of meteors and great faith in machines from -outer space, saucer enthusiasts reasoned that since the fireballs were -not normal meteors they must be artificial objects. Since they were -artificial, they must be under intelligent control. Since they were -intelligently controlled, they must be unmanned missiles or manned -vehicles launched from an alien spaceship hovering hundreds of miles -above the earth whose purpose might or might not be destructive, or -they might be merely ranging devices sent as a warning to earthmen. - -The Air Force was not particularly worried about interplanetary -visitors, but it was concerned with the possibility that the fireballs -were man-made vehicles, a potential danger to the country. One -scientist had suggested that the Russians might have constructed a -guided missile whose nose cone, the final stage in a multistage rocket, -was made of ice and various other chemicals. In re-entering the earth’s -atmosphere, such a cone would burn up; the vaporizing ices would -account for the green color observed, for the silent disappearance of -the object, and for the lack of material traces on the ground. Whatever -the true explanation, members of the Air Defense Command could not -afford to guess; they had to know. - -In mid-February 1949 they assembled at Los Alamos a conference of -military and intelligence officers, physicists, and astronomers, to -discuss the problem of the green fireballs. After two days of studying -the evidence, most of the members agreed that the fireballs were -meteors of an unusual type and, as natural phenomena, not a threat to -national security. To take care of the extremely remote chance that -this conclusion might be wrong, the conference turned over the problem -to the scientists at Air Force Cambridge Research Center which, in -the late summer, organized Project Twinkle to equip and establish -three cinetheodolite stations in New Mexico. Fitted with a diffraction -grating to split the spectrum into its component colors (and thus -identify the chemical elements present), the cameras were to photograph -and record the altitude, size, speed, and spectrum of the luminous -objects. - -Since the green fireballs, meanwhile, had all but vanished from the -skies, enthusiasm for the research project diminished. Only one camera -(designed by Dr. Menzel) was ever put into operation and it never found -anything to photograph. After two months of futile searching, the Air -Force finally abandoned Project Twinkle as a waste of time. - -In the years following, green fireballs occasionally appeared. An -astronomer observed one over Lafayette, Colorado, at 7:45 P.M. on June -4, 1950. One soared over the New England states and eastern Canada -on November 2, 1950, and a year later, on November 2, 1951, a plane -crew over Texas sighted another which was dramatically publicized in -_Life_ magazine, and described in another publication as a missile that -ejected flaming balls. Few other fireballs made the headlines until the -one of September 18, 1954, but even that caused only brief excitement -and the Air Force expressed no alarm. - - -_Meteors in the Records_ - -The American Meteor Society, whose members specialize in the study -of meteors and meteorites, for years have collected reports of such -phenomena. From a large enough number of good descriptions of a given -meteor, astronomers can analyze the data mathematically and determine -the meteor’s radiant--the point in the heavens from which it seems to -come. The meteor is then identified by its radiant and given an AMS -number. For several years the data were published in _Meteoritics_, a -journal issued jointly by the Meteoritical Society and the Institute of -Meteoritics of the University of New Mexico. Dr. Charles P. Olivier, -president of the American Meteor Society, was a contributing editor. - -The records in _Meteoritics_ for the years 1950 to 1955 list dozens -of fireballs, many of them green, that were somehow overlooked by -saucer enthusiasts. On August 11, 1950, during the maximum of the -Perseid shower, a blue-green fireball (AMS 2336) apparently oval- or -cigar-shaped appeared over Washington, Oregon, and Idaho at 7:30 P.M. -and was reported by more than 100 witnesses. So brilliant that it -showed a noticeable disk, it flew in a horizontal path, silently broke -into three pieces, and disappeared[V-8, p. 379]. - -September 20, the same year, was a big day for meteors. At 1:35 A.M. -a giant fireball (AMS 2326) roared over southeastern Illinois from -north to south, leaving a luminous train visible in five states and -illuminating the sky and countryside from St. Louis to Louisville and -from Memphis to Knoxville. The final detonation, over western Kentucky, -was heard over an area 1000 miles square and shook buildings from -Paducah to Memphis. Fragments showered farms over a twenty-five-mile -area, struck five buildings, and penetrated one roof. About fifty -pounds of meteorites dropped in Murray, Calloway County, Kentucky, and -are now in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. That same night -about 10:45 P.M., fireballs were reported by plane crews flying over -a six-state area--Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New -Mexico[V-9, p. 115]. Similar fireballs that vanished without trace -were reported on September 28, 1953 (AMS 2331); October 4, 1953 (AMS -2330); May 15, 1954; and October 27, 1954 (AMS 2337). - -The green fireballs still appear now and then, as they always have. -None of them has yet changed into a spaceship. - - -_Fallacies about Meteors_ - -Most flying-saucer enthusiasts still refuse to believe that the green -fireballs were natural phenomena. Misinterpreting or distorting the -statements made by professional astronomers, they cite the unusual -nature of these meteors as proof that they were not meteors at all but -machines from another world. Advocates of this belief need more than -a refresher course in logic; they also need to learn some facts about -meteors. - -The space-vehicle interpretation rests on a series of mistaken beliefs -and illogical conclusions about the nature and behavior of meteors. -These false premises may be summarized as follows: - -1. _Color._ Meteors do not contain copper; since the peculiar shade of -green shown by the green fireballs could come only from copper, the -fireballs were not meteors but spacecraft. - -2. _Speed and trajectory._ Meteors do not travel at a slow rate of -speed and do not follow a horizontal path; since the green fireballs -did both, they were not meteors but spacecraft. - -3. _Size and brilliance._ Meteors do not show such great size or -brilliance as did the green fireballs, which were therefore not meteors -but spacecraft. - -4. _Sound._ Meteors produce a loud noise; since the green fireballs -moved silently, they were not meteors but spacecraft. - -5. _Fragments._ Meteors deposit material fragments on the earth which -can be located if the investigator maps the flight path and makes a -search; since the green fireballs left no fragments, they were not -meteors but spacecraft. - -In the pages that follow we shall attempt to correct each of these -mistaken ideas in turn, to present the actual facts known to -astronomers, and to show clearly that the green fireballs were not -spacecraft, but meteors. - - -_Facts about Meteors_ - -1. _Color._ Copper-green meteors are not a new phenomenon. This -unusual shade of green is only one of the many possible colors that -meteors may display--white, green, blue, yellow, orange, red, and all -shades in between. Descriptions received by the Meteoritical Society -include adjectives such as bright-green, copper-green, blue-green, -fiery white, green-white, orange, blue, yellowish, silver, red-orange. -Perceptions of color vary greatly among different observers, so that -several witnesses may choose different words for the color of the same -object. The most common adjective used is “brilliant”; an observer who -has only a few seconds to look at the object often has real difficulty -in deciding just what color accompanied the brilliance. Very common -phrases are blue-green, greenish-white, orange-yellow, orange-red, -greenish-yellow, yellow-green. - -Both the chemical structure and the velocity of the meteoric body help -determine its apparent color. As the burning object plunges through the -atmosphere and vaporizes, the chemical elements produce their typical -colors. At higher velocities, atmospheric friction heats the body to -higher temperatures and whitens the color; as the body slows down and -becomes less hot, it is apt to appear redder. - -In a few instances astronomers have been able to photograph the -color spectrum of a meteor in flight, to analyze the spectral lines -and determine exactly what elements were present[V-10]. As a rule, -however, the chemical content must be found from a laboratory analysis -of recovered meteorites. Some meteors do contain traces of copper, -and free nodules of pure copper have been found in several meteorites -[V-5, p. 81]. Magnesium occurs in fairly high percentages in most -meteorites and the amount is unusually high in green meteors[V-11]. -It produces a color almost identical with that from copper. Seeing -the green of a vaporizing meteor, no observer could tell whether the -color came from copper or from magnesium unless he could photograph the -spectrum or make a chemical analysis of the meteorite. - -The color displayed by the New Mexico fireballs may have come from -copper, but more probably from magnesium. Another possible source -is frozen nitrogen. Laboratory experiments relating to problems -of satellite re-entry[V-12] have shown that when frozen nitrogen -vaporizes, it emits a brilliant green glow whose wave length is -almost identical with that of the New Mexico fireballs, as judged -from the paintings made by witnesses. One of the prevailing theories -suggests that meteors of this type may be icy “cometoids”--cometary -debris, chunks of ice, and frozen gases (including nitrogen) at very -low temperatures. When they enter the earth’s atmosphere and are -slowed down to speeds of several hundred miles an hour, they become -heated and vaporize, and the surface alternately melts and refreezes; -the vaporizing nitrogen would produce the green color seen in the -fireballs. Such a process would account for the color, the short -lifetime, and the lack of fragments of the New Mexico meteors. - -To summarize: Meteors _can_ exhibit the particular green color shown -by the New Mexico fireballs. It can result from copper, magnesium, or -frozen nitrogen, which can normally occur in meteors. - -2. _Speed and trajectory._ Meteors vary widely in their velocities -and flight paths. They plunge from space into the earth’s atmosphere -at speeds estimated to range from seven to forty-five miles a second -relative to the earth--from 25,000 to more than 150,000 miles per hour. -Members of a particular meteor stream usually show a characteristic -velocity. The Perseids, for example, travel at high speed, some -thirty-six miles a second, while the Geminids saunter in at a mere -twenty-one miles a second. Most of these “falling stars” become -visible to us when they have descended to around sixty or seventy miles -above the earth. Flashing down in a steep path, they usually burn -up and vanish by the time they have fallen to around fifty or forty -miles. The larger the meteor’s body, the longer its life and the lower -its point of disappearance. Most meteors maintain a straight course -as they descend toward earth. A typical path is that photographed by -Smithsonian astronomers in New Mexico on the night of November 23, 1960 -(see Plate IIIa). Some fireballs have been reported to change course -after exploding. More probably, the witness is actually observing the -shifting pattern of the smoke cloud left by the meteor. The Puerto Rico -fireball of January 12, 1947, left an erratic trail of this type, which -was photographed ten to twenty minutes after the meteor had disappeared -(see Plate IIIb). - -The original entrance velocity, angle of entry, size, and chemical -structure all influence the shape of a meteor’s path and its time of -survival. The apparent angle of descent as seen by the observer depends -on the distance and the direction the object is moving relative to the -observer. When the meteor travels parallel to the observer’s line of -sight, it seems much slower than when it passes the line of sight at -right angles. The greater the distance between the observer and the -meteor, the slower its apparent motion[V-13]. - -Some meteors move very slowly; traveling at an almost leisurely rate, -they soar through the sky on a long, level path almost parallel with -the earth. The slow fireballs in the great meteor procession of 1913 -maintained a horizontal course over a distance of several thousand -miles, from western Canada to Brazil[V-14]. - -Astronomical records show that green meteors are usually slow. Some -230 persons reported to the American Meteor Society that on November -28, 1953, at 6:30 P.M., a fireball moved slowly through the sky from -Massachusetts to Pennsylvania. Described as blue-white-green, changing -to orange-yellow-red, it was huge, disk-shaped, and vanished silently -without depositing fragments [V-1, p. 273]. On May 15, 1954, at 11:22 -P.M., more than 100 persons observed (and reported) a slow-moving -fireball, blue-green changing to red, of luminosity so great that it -woke sleeping people. Toward the end of its course it seemed to stop, -spiraled a couple of times, and then simply vanished without leaving -fragments [V-8, p. 336]. - -To summarize: Meteors _can_ travel at low velocities and in apparently -horizontal paths. - -3. _Size and brilliance._ Giant meteors of great luminosity have been -recorded throughout history. Some fireballs have been visible to -observers throughout an area of thousands of square miles. Typical -descriptions are: dazzling, like an airplane falling in flames, bigger -than the full moon, of blinding brilliance, so bright it turned night -into day, like the headlight of a locomotive, as big as the setting sun -but three times as brilliant. - -The luminosity does not depend on the actual size of the meteoric body. -A fragment no larger than a pinhead can create a brilliant flash as -it vanishes. A spectacular fireball that lights up the country over -hundreds of miles may have a small body that burns up completely miles -above the earth. A larger body can survive longer, so that it continues -to flare for several seconds or more. The larger, long-lasting -fireballs may explode into smaller fragments and cascades of sparks. In -exploding, they can produce a luminous cloud of particles that remains -visible for fifteen or twenty minutes and then peppers the ground -with meteorites that fall like hail or buckshot. A giant fireball can -deposit chunks of metal weighing a ton or more like those found in -Mexico, or can leave a truly enormous body that penetrates the ground -and carves out a great crater like those in Arizona and Texas. - -To summarize: Huge fireballs of great brilliance are not new. - -4. _Sound._ Some meteors produce noise; others do not. Most meteors -silently vaporize high above the earth. When one does reach the -ground, it may strike with no noise but the faint thud of its impact. -Shooting through the air, it sometimes makes weak noises that have been -described as rumbling, crackling, rustling, whistling, or hissing. - -Meteors sometimes explode with one or more crashing detonations that -rattle or even break windows. The noise has been described as like a -heavy clap of thunder, the explosion of a volcano, or a whir as if a -million bumblebees had been disturbed. The noise from the explosion of -the Siberian meteor in 1908 was heard over a distance of 600 miles, and -the shock registered as an earthquake in England. - -Many meteors, like the Pennsylvania fireball of January 29, 1952, (AMS -2328) are completely silent. This blue-green object, so large that it -showed a definite disk, was reported to the American Meteor Society by -more than 400 witnesses from Maine to Virginia and from New York to -Ohio; none of the observers heard any noise [V-1, p. 264]. - -To summarize: Some meteors end with a bang, but most of them don’t even -whimper. - -5. _Fragments._ Most meteors burn up high in the atmosphere. A few, if -they are large enough in size (at least ten to twenty pounds) and tough -enough in structure, survive to reach the earth as stony or metallic -fragments. Marked differences characterize the various meteor streams. -The Taurids (maximum November 12) are relatively rigid structures, -unusually tough, and show little tendency to break up in their flight. -The many Taurid fireballs show that fairly large bodies have survived. -The Geminids (maximum December 14) are of average strength but appear -to be very dense, while the Draconids (October 10) are featherlike and -fragile, with low density. Some of the most brilliant fireballs may be -structures of ice and frozen gases which quickly vaporize on reaching -the earth and hence leave no detectable fragments. The fiery object -that struck Siberia in 1908 may have been such an “icy cometoid”; -although it devastated an area of hundreds of square miles and uprooted -or knocked down some eighty million trees, it apparently left no -physical trace[V-15]. - -If some of the physical body does survive to reach the earth’s surface, -finding it is still a problem. Recovery is rare even when the fall -occurs in daylight over well-populated country and the flight path -can be charted from the accounts of reliable witnesses. When the -fall occurs at night, recovery is even rarer[V-5]. After dark, even -experienced observers find it difficult to judge true directions and -distances, and they may plot a place of fall that is many miles from -the actual point of impact. Meteoriticists know that there is small -chance of finding meteorites that fall at night except in regions where -most of the land is under cultivation. In the fifty years between 1898 -and 1948, of forty-eight recoveries from observed meteorite falls in -the United States, only seven were made from falls occurring after 8 -P.M.[V-5]. - -Recovery depends on many factors: the number of persons who saw the -event, the accuracy of their estimates of distance and direction, the -size of the meteorites, the patience of the searchers, the time and -money available for the search, and, most important of all, just plain -luck. - -The Norton County fall of February 18, 1948, illustrates both the -detective work and the luck required. At about 4:56 P.M. C.S.T. a -brilliant detonating fireball soared over an area including Kansas, -Nebraska, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas, and left a large white cloud -that was visible for about an hour afterward. Newspapers publicized -the phenomenon as a flying saucer and a few excited witnesses agreed. -One man affirmed that shortly before the explosion the strange craft -hovered over his yard at eye level, belching fire and showering sparks, -then suddenly took off, climbing fast, and exploded. - -Meteoriticists at once recognized the characteristic pattern of an -exploding meteor and determined to find the remains. From newspaper -reports and personal interviews with the witnesses, H. H. Nininger -of the American Meteorite Museum in Arizona plotted the path and -determined that the probable point of explosion was thirteen miles -west and three miles north of Norton, Kansas[V-16]. From similar -investigations, Lincoln La Paz of the Institute of Meteoritics in -New Mexico determined the probable place of impact as an area eight -miles long and four miles wide, about thirty-two square miles, on the -Kansas-Nebraska line. - -During the Easter vacation a field-survey party from New Mexico -drove north into Kansas to hunt for the meteorite, but blizzards and -snow-blocked roads stopped the work. A second search, begun on April -27, suggested that the main mass of the meteorite must have fallen -somewhere in Furnas County, Nebraska. When persistent hunting failed to -reveal it, the searchers moved south into Kansas, where a farmer had -found a strange stone that smelled of sulphur and contained metallic -specks. Although many stony meteorites of various weights turned up in -this area, the main mass remained hidden until July 3 when a farmer -located it, by accident, in a field that the official party had already -examined and abandoned some three months earlier. This meteorite, -although it weighed more than a ton and had dug out a six-foot crater -in the ground, had eluded the hunters because “at the time of the fall -the only dwelling close to the point of impact was unoccupied and ... -the impact occurred in a field so overgrown with weeds and stubble that -even the large crater made by the record-breaking main mass of the fall -was finally located only when by chance a caterpillar tractor started -to fall into it.”[V-17] - -To find these meteorites, several highly trained searchers had spent -days of effort, made a number of field surveys, driven more than 10,000 -miles, and interviewed hundreds of persons who observed the flight -of the fireball. Even so, they counted themselves lucky because many -“meteorites of such composition and structure, although large enough to -produce spectacular light and sound effects in the intermediate layers -of the atmosphere, might disintegrate so completely during transit -through the denser lower atmosphere that only dust would survive to -reach the earth.” - -The green fireballs of New Mexico were silent; they were probably icy -structures and hence produced no meteorites. Even if they had, locating -the place of fall would have been nearly impossible because the meteors -appeared at night in a sparsely populated area. - -To summarize: Many meteors do not leave fragments. Even when they do, -finding the meteorite requires luck as well as hard work. - - -_Unusual Fireballs_ - -The officers and crewmen of a plane in flight have a front-row seat at -the drama of the heavens, where astronomical events seem doubly vivid -against the dark night sky. The pilot has been trained to recognize -the major constellations, the brightest stars, and ordinary phenomena -such as meteors and the Aurora Borealis. As a rule, however, he limits -his study to the needs of the job. The few who have an astronomer’s -intimate acquaintance with the heavens have often made valuable -contributions to our knowledge. Comet 1957d was first observed by -an airman and Comet 1948l was discovered by a pilot flying from the -Fiji Islands to Australia. Comet Wilson, discovered on July 23, 1961 -(and reported to the Air Force by some persons as a UFO), was first -recognized by A. Stewart Wilson, navigator on a Pan American flight -over the Pacific. All members of the crew were skilled and experienced -fliers, but he alone was equipped to see the significance of the -intruder in the constellation Gemini[V-18]. - -One of the most fantastic apparitions to confront a pilot is a group of -luminous objects flaming through the air in more or less geometrical -formation. The objects often seem to be heading directly toward the -plane on a collision course but, as though under intelligent control, -seem to veer off at the last possible instant and then disappear -at incredible speed. The pilot usually recognizes this frightening -phenomenon as an exploding meteor or a cluster of fireballs. -Occasionally the sight is so extraordinary that he insists it could -not have been a mere meteor but must have been some weird spacecraft. -Airmen of unquestioned competence have made this mistake, sometimes -because they more than half believed in extraterrestrial visitors, but -more often because they knew less than they supposed about meteors. - -In trying to identify the alarming objects approaching his plane, the -pilot often thinks first of a meteor, then rejects the idea with some -form of the remark, “Whatever it was, it was certainly not a meteor; -I’ve seen meteors and I can’t be fooled.” He usually adds that no -meteor could travel so fast (or so slowly) as the one he saw; so high -(or so low); could have such a color; steer so “obvious” a collision -course; fly as part of so orderly a group; move in so level (or so -steeply angled) a path; maintain so steady a course; change course so -abruptly; move so silently; or create so loud a detonation. - -Such an incident occurred on a Pan American flight from New York to -San Juan early on the morning of March 9, 1957. At about 3:30 A.M. -when the plane was off Jacksonville, Florida, the pilot and the flight -engineer saw a burning, greenish-white, round object coming out of -nowhere, seemingly only a half mile away and headed across their nose -on a direct collision course[V-19]. In such a situation a plane’s -captain cannot waste time in analyzing what he sees, but must act. In -a violent evasive move he put the plane into a climb of about 1500 -feet, during which several passengers were thrown out of their seats -and injured. At the same moment the crews of at least seven other -flights within an area of 300 miles were reporting the same object. -One witness saw it split in two and the fiery rear section drop away. -About an hour earlier, the pilot of another plane in the area had seen -the breakup of a similar meteor but had not reported it. In spite of -all the evidence that the unknown was a normal meteor, breaking apart -as many meteors do, the Pan American pilot, “having seen thousands of -meteors,” could not accept the object as a natural phenomenon although -he did realize, after he heard the other reports, that he had greatly -underestimated its distance. The object showed all the characteristics -of a typical fireball, but the flying-saucer cultists have still tried -to convert this undoubted meteor into an unknown object. - -The number of meteors reported as flying saucers or spaceships has -diminished in the last few years, but the Air Force has continued to -investigate all doubtful or puzzling sightings to determine whether -they in any way represent a possible threat to the nation’s security. -Every sure identification of a UFO as merely a meteor, not a ballistic -missile, brings a certain amount of relief. - -A typical case, successfully solved, is that of June 20, 1959. About -2:15 A.M. the pilot of a United Airlines flight over the Pacific -reported by radio to Flight Operations that he had observed an apparent -rocket firing about thirty-five miles west of the plane position; radar -detected the presence of a surface vessel at about the same position. -The pilot first noticed a flash of light, then the entire sky lighted -up and he saw four round, fiery globules, of an intense bluish-white -color, with no tails. Flying two by two in a straight line, they made -no sound and disappeared after about two seconds. The weather was clear -and calm, the visibility excellent. The copilot, sitting at the right, -saw only the first flash, but the pilot of another plane some 120 miles -to the west reported seeing the same objects at the same time[V-19]. - -Because this sighting occurred in a very sensitive area where military -officials were expecting a Russian test firing of an ICBM, the Air -Force made an exhaustive study of this report and identified the object -as a meteor. Their evaluation proceeded as follows: - -The United Airlines pilot estimated the distance of the objects as -only about thirty miles and their rate of travel as about 15 degrees -in two seconds. These figures indicated a velocity of approximately -14,500 miles per hour, about the speed of a ballistic missile. But -the relatively low altitude, the flat trajectory, and the fact that a -visible “power plant” was apparently still operating at this stage of -flight ruled out the possibility of a missile. However, if the observer -had underestimated the distance and the objects were actually hundreds -of miles away, then the data would indicate a speed of about 50,000 -miles an hour, in the range of meteor velocities. The descriptions -given closely matched that of the classic fireball, whose colors range -over white, blue, green, red, and yellow, and whose luminosity may be -as great as -3 magnitudes. The Air Force concluded that the object -sighted was, in all probability, a meteor. - -A similar sighting, which saucer enthusiasts have publicized as a -brilliantly lighted UFO that appeared to hold a definite course, -occurred at 3:02 A.M. on July 11, 1959, also over the Pacific[V-19]. -The pilot of a Pan American Airlines flight reported that a mysterious -bright object accompanied at its left by four smaller lights had -approached his plane at “inconceivable speed,” made a sharp right turn, -and then disappeared. The objects seemed to be flying evenly spaced in -formation, and the pilot, who had never seen anything like it in all -his years of flying, told the newspapers, “I’m a believer, now.” - -The official investigation began immediately. Four other commercial -flights had reported seeing the object at the same time. In each -case, the pilot stated that the objects seemed to head straight at -his plane at high speed on a collision course, then made a 90-degree -turn and disappeared. The various reports, however, showed significant -disagreements. Some witnesses gave the color as white, some as -orange-yellow. Of the several pilots, each gave a different description -of the “formation”: a big light with four smaller lights flying at -the left; a big light surrounded by a cluster of six or seven smaller -lights; a big light followed by four smaller lights; a big light in the -center of a rectangle formed by four smaller lights. Of the five pilots -who made official reports, one said the phenomenon was definitely not a -meteor, two said it could have been a meteor, and two did not venture -an opinion. The pilots of several other flights stated, on landing, -that they too had seen the object but had not radioed a report because -they assumed it to be a meteor. - -After mapping and correlating all the observations, ATIC completed -the analysis and released the result to the press on July 14, only -three days after the sighting, a remarkably efficient piece of work. -Conclusion: the object was a fireball[V-20]. - -The literature of flying saucers contains dozens of similar incidents -that fit perfectly into the meteor pattern. Pointing to this list of -“unidentified” flying objects, saucer addicts still abuse the Air Force -for concealing the “fact” that these UFOs are actually spaceships! - - -_Great Meteor Processions_ - -Even more dramatic than the ordinary exploding meteor whose fragments -naturally fall into a pattern around it, a cluster of fireballs or -a great procession of meteors occasionally startles the world. On -December 21, 1876, about 8:45 P.M. such a swarm of fireballs appeared -over Kansas and disappeared some three minutes later over Pennsylvania, -having traveled the thousand-mile distance at a velocity of 20,000 -to 25,000 miles an hour. Hundreds of persons in Kansas, Missouri, -Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania saw the display, which -included nearly 100 separate fireballs; the leader was more brilliant -than the full moon and many of the followers were brighter than Venus -or Jupiter. Perhaps fortunately for the nerves of the public, the most -recent such display occurred before the saucers began to fly (March 24, -1933). This cluster of fireballs was visible chiefly in the skies over -New Mexico and left a great cloud that was visible for at least three -hours. - -The most spectacular of such formations was the great meteor procession -of February 9, 1913. At about 9:05 in the evening the leader or leaders -appeared in the sky over western Canada, their fiery red bodies -followed by long streaming tails. These immense fireballs showed no -tendency to fall toward the earth but, like the green fireballs of New -Mexico, “moved forward on a perfectly horizontal path with peculiar, -majestic, dignified deliberation,” and disappeared in the distance -to the southwest. No description can surpass that given by Professor -Chant[V-21] who spent two weeks in locating and interviewing many of -the witnesses. - -“Before the astonishment aroused by this first meteor had subsided, -other bodies were seen coming from the northwest, emerging from -precisely the same place as the first one. Onward they moved, at the -same deliberate pace, in twos or threes or fours, with tails streaming -behind, though not so long nor so bright as in the first case. They -all traversed the same path and were headed for the same point in the -southeastern sky. - -“Gradually the bodies became smaller, until the last ones were but -red sparks, some of which were snuffed out before they reached -their destination. Several report that near the middle of the great -procession was a fine large star without a tail, and that a similar -body brought up the rear. - -“To most observers the outstanding feature of the phenomenon was the -slow, majestic motion of the bodies; and almost equally remarkable was -the perfect formation which they retained. Many compared them to a -fleet of airships, with lights on either side and forward and aft;... -Others, again, likened them to great battleships, attended by cruisers -or destroyers.” - -No other recorded meteors have persisted for so great a distance. -Thousands of persons saw this great procession as it soared over -Saskatchewan, central Canada, Toronto and the Great Lakes region, New -York and Pennsylvania, the shipping lanes from New York to Bermuda, and -on over the South Atlantic, where before it vanished it was observed -by ships as far south as Brazil--a distance of some 5000 miles, one -fifth of the earth’s circumference. The descriptions do not vary -significantly and they all mention the slow, level flight, parallel to -the earth’s surface. - -Some astronomers have suggested that these unusual meteors may -have been a group of natural satellites deflected by the earth’s -gravitation, slowing down and finally disintegrating as they made their -final revolution[V-14]. But if the UFO cult had existed in 1913, the -flying-saucer enthusiasts would probably have regarded the fireball -procession as a fleet of spaceships, and would have speculated on the -problem of what planet dispatched them and for what purpose. - - -_The Chiles-Whitted Sighting_ - -The Chiles-Whitted UFO, sighted on July 24, 1948, is one of the most -publicized of the classics. Although the object appeared, passed, and -vanished in an interval of roughly ten seconds, and the descriptions -given by the three witnesses differed on several vital points, Dr. J. -Allen Hynek, astronomer consultant to ATIC, in his report of April -30, 1949, identified it as an undoubted meteor. Nevertheless, not -until 1959 did the Air Force officially accept this solution, and the -literature of saucerdom still cites the incident as indisputable proof -of alien spaceships. - -On the evening of July 23 an Eastern Airlines DC-3 took off from -Houston, Texas, en route for Boston, with an experienced pilot and -copilot in the cockpit. By 2:40 A.M. C.D.S.T. July 24 the plane was a -few miles southwest of Montgomery, Alabama, flying at an altitude of -5000 feet. The night was clear, and a bright moon just four days past -full shone through a layer of broken clouds about 1000 feet above the -plane. At 2:45 A.M. the pilot, Captain C. S. Chiles, noticed a dull -red glow some distance ahead, approaching from a little above and to -the right of the plane. He remarked to his copilot, Lieutenant J. B. -Whitted, “Look, here comes a new Army jet job.”[V-19] In the next few -seconds, however, he changed his mind about the identity of the object. -As both men watched, the brilliantly glowing unknown continued to -approach with incredible swiftness, apparently on a collision course; -it seemed to veer slightly, passed the plane on the right almost level -with and parallel to the flight path, then seemed to pull up sharply -and disappear into the clouds. Captain Chiles estimated that the object -was in sight for about ten seconds. The one passenger who was awake, -sitting at the right of the cabin, saw the light for only an instant as -it flashed by. - -The brief impressions of these three witnesses were the sole foundation -for newspaper stories that the plane had narrowly escaped collision -with a spaceship. - -In their official report both pilots agreed on the general appearance -of the UFO: it looked like a wingless aircraft with no fins or -protruding surfaces, was cigar-shaped, about 100 feet long, and about -twice the diameter of a B-29 superfortress. It seemed to have two rows -of windows through which glowed a very bright light, brilliant as a -magnesium flare. An intense dark-blue glow like a blue fluorescent -factory light shone at the bottom along the entire length, and -red-orange flames shot out from the rear to a distance of some fifty -feet. Neither man heard any sound and neither saw any occupants. In -their original report to ATIC both men agreed that “no disturbance was -felt from the air waves, nor was there any prop wash or mechanical -disturbance when the object passed.” The third witness, the passenger, -did not report any turbulence or rocking of the plane. Some of the -later versions of the incident gloss over these facts, however, and -thus exaggerate the startling nature of the sighting. One account -subtly implies the presence of a pilot in the UFO and several state -that, as the object passed, the plane hit turbulent air[V-7, p. 61] -or was “rocked” by the UFO[V-20, p. 21]. - -Like most eyewitness descriptions of a startling event, the testimony -of the three men differed. Chiles stated that at the front of the UFO -was a lighted pilot compartment or cockpit with a “snout” similar -to a radar pole, and that a kind of nozzle projected from the rear -from which the flames fanned out to a width of twenty or thirty feet. -Whitted did not see a cockpit, a snout, or a rear nozzle; he thought -the flames flared out from the entire rear and were never any wider -than the width of the UFO itself. The third witness, the passenger, -saw no shape or form, only an intensely brilliant streak of light -that appeared and vanished before he was able to focus his eyes. As -responsible officers, both pilots had obviously tried to separate the -observed phenomena from their interpretation. They differed widely -on the estimated distance of the UFO (the passenger did not offer an -estimate). Chiles thought it passed them with a margin of only about -700 feet, but Whitted believed the distance to be more than ten times -greater, about a mile and a half. However, when we remember that these -men had the UFO in sight for only a small fraction of a minute and that -their study of the side view (“windows,” “cockpit,” etc.) must have -been limited to the instant of passing, these disagreements are not -remarkable. - -When Captain Chiles and Lieutenant Whitted reported their frightening -experience, the Air Force made a prompt investigation. Since Captain -Chiles explicitly stated his belief that the UFO was under intelligent -control, the case required careful consideration. A check of the air -traffic showed that no other planes had been in the area at the time, -so the object could not have been a normal aircraft. Furthermore, other -equally reliable witnesses reported seeing unusually bright meteors -in the Southeast that night. Since the bare physical description of -the UFO, apart from the inferences made, was identical with that of a -fireball, Dr. Hynek concluded that it was an unusually bright meteor. - -But the climate at ATIC that summer was not friendly to a prosaic -explanation. Remembering the tragic death of Captain Mantell some -six months earlier while he was chasing a UFO, then unidentified (p. -33), some officials were more than half ready to believe in invading -space fleets as the answer to every puzzling phenomenon in the sky. -They rejected the fireball explanation. Instead of accepting the -Chiles-Whitted UFO as a meteor, they identified the other two meteors -seen that night as UFOs! - -And yet the evidence is overwhelming that the UFO _was_ a fireball. - -The major meteor showers that occur on schedule every year have -accounted for hundreds of alleged UFOs over the last fifteen years. -Several of these showers begin in mid-July; thus July 24 falls in a -period of greatly increased meteor activity, when the earth is moving -through the Aquarid streams and is encountering the forerunners of the -Perseids. All during the year, and particularly during these weeks -of shower meteors, amateur astronomers throughout the country spend -many evenings watching the sky, counting meteors, mapping their paths, -and reporting the data to various observatories. On an average night -outside the shower periods, if there are few clouds and no moon, an -experienced watcher may count about half a dozen meteors in an hour’s -time, but during a shower he usually sees many more. For the week of -July 23 to 30, 1948, the records of the American Meteor Society, the -Harvard College Observatory, and the Flower and Cook Observatory show -that, in spite of the interference of a bright moon, large numbers of -meteors were counted and the paths of many of them were mapped and -plotted. - -The reports from the Southeast for that week have particular interest -for the Chiles-Whitted case. A regular observer in Alabama counted -fifteen meteors in one hour’s watching on the evening of July 24, and -twenty-one in two hours the following night[V-22]. On the evening of -July 26 he apparently took a holiday, but many other persons saw a huge -fireball that flashed over North Carolina and Tennessee at 9:36 P.M. -E.S.T.; its radiant (AMS 2322), plotted from many reports, showed it to -be a member of the Delta Aquarid stream, then approaching its maximum. -Early on the morning of July 27 another fireball soared over Tennessee -and apparently exploded[V-23]. On the night of July 28 the Alabama -watcher recorded fifteen meteors, from which he obtained the radiants -AMS 3269, 3270, and 3271[V-9, p. 521]. - -These facts alone--the occurrence of scheduled showers and the number -of well-plotted meteors observed during the period--point strongly -to the probability that the Chiles-Whitted UFO was a meteor. The -probability becomes virtual certainty when we examine the available -records for the night of July 23 and morning of July 24, the period -when this particular UFO appeared. The watcher in Alabama was not on -duty, but another observer in Iowa counted fourteen meteors in one -hour[V-22], more than double the rate for an average night. About an -hour before the UFO appeared in Alabama, ground observers at Robins -Air Force Base near Macon, Georgia, reported an unusually bright -meteor going from north to south. A few minutes before the Alabama -sighting, two Air Force officers flying between Blackstone, Virginia, -and Gainsborough, North Carolina, reported an unusually bright meteor -traveling in a southerly direction. - -When Chiles and Whitted observed their UFO, its appearance and manner -of motion were identical with those of many other bright meteors but -the pilots, startled by the sudden apparition, misinterpreted what they -saw. They probably overestimated the length of time the meteor was in -view and they almost certainly underestimated the distance. Meteors -notoriously mislead even the experienced observer, who often sees them -disappearing “just behind the next hill,” when they may actually be -fifty or a hundred miles away. Although the night was moonlit and clear -except for broken clouds, the witnesses had no fixed reference point by -which to determine either distance or size. - -There can be no doubt that Chiles and Whitted misinterpreted the -appearance of an unusually brilliant meteor, its body glowing to white -(the momentarily persisting luminous train of a meteor often has a -veined or fibrous structure that could easily have suggested the -“lighted window” and “cockpit”) and blue incandescence (the glowing -“undercarriage”) as it rushed through the atmosphere some fifty -miles or more away, shooting off flaming gases (the “exhaust”) and -vaporizing from the friction of the atmosphere. Flashing beyond their -range of vision (“pulling up into the clouds”), it probably burned and -disintegrated before it reached the earth. - -This fresh analysis, based on meteor records for July 1948, has led -ATIC finally to remove the Chiles-Whitted UFO from the category of -Unknowns and, as Dr. Hynek suggested originally, add it to the file of -recorded meteors. - -A more recent sighting that closely resembled the Chiles-Whitted -incident occurred on the evening of January 8, 1959, and was promptly -reported to ATIC [V-19]. Two Air Force pilots were flying in a C-45 -type of aircraft from Phillipsburg to Brookville, Pennsylvania, at an -altitude of 8000 feet. The night was clear and moonless. At 6:14 P.M. -E.S.T. they observed what appeared to be a brilliantly lighted solid -object rushing toward them. Bluish green in color, shaped roughly -like a teardrop and about 200 feet in diameter, it made no audible -sound. Glowing like a small sun, it seemed to be flying level with the -aircraft, less than a mile away and headed straight for the plane. - -The frightened pilot jerked on the controls in an attempt to dodge -the object, but almost before the plane could respond the unknown had -disappeared. It had been in sight about three seconds. In his official -report he estimated that the object had been the size of a pool ball -held at arm’s length and that it had been not more than a mile away. -The copilot, however, did not agree. A man with special training and -unusual experience in the study of UFOs, he estimated the object to be -the size of the head of a pin held at arm’s length and the distance to -be at least 300 miles. The extreme brilliance of the object against -the night sky, he thought, had made it seem larger. In his opinion, -supported by Air Force investigation, the unknown had been a fireball -at least fifty miles high that had burned out and vanished as they -watched. - -As in the Chiles-Whitted case, ground observers also saw the object and -thus provided independent confirmation of the analysis. A member of -the Ohio State University reported to the Harvard College Observatory -that on the night of January 8, at approximately 6:15 P.M. E.S.T., he -had watched a brilliant bluish-white meteor streak across the sky over -Columbus and vanish within a few seconds. The fireball must indeed -have been high and spectacular to be visible at the same moment from -points nearly 300 miles apart. - - -_Other Flaming UFOs_ - -Not all spectacular UFOs are meteors, of course, any more than they -are all planets or balloons or rockets. Sudden brilliant illuminations -of the night sky can have any one of a dozen or more explanations. The -atmosphere is crowded with potential Unknowns, more than at any time -in man’s history. The air surrounding our planet plays host not only -to meteors and fireballs, birds and insects, but also to military and -commercial planes, private planes, jets, helicopters, weather balloons, -experimental rockets, and an ever-growing number of artificial -satellites. An ear-shattering detonation that rattles a house or breaks -a window may come from an exploding fireball or it may come from a jet -penetrating the sound barrier. Without an exact knowledge of all the -circumstances, only the foolhardy would attempt to say positively what -caused any given unusual aerial phenomenon. - -Let us consider a sighting that might have received various wrong -interpretations and would probably have become one of the most -famous of the UFOs cited by saucerdom, had investigators lacked full -information. - -Shortly after midnight one spring morning reliable witnesses on the -east coast, particularly in Connecticut and Long Island, reported a -brilliant bluish-white object flying at high altitude and incredible -speed. As it flashed overhead, it changed color to become reddish, -and several smaller objects apparently detached themselves from the -main body and followed it in orderly fashion. About five minutes later -more than fifteen ships in the Caribbean area observed similar objects -soaring overhead but the reports varied in many details. Ship number -two saw brilliant short flames darting about behind the main body, -which had a long, tapered tail. Ship number four saw a flaming white -object more brilliant than the full moon. Ship number seven reported a -flaming green ball followed by a group of several small objects. Ship -number nine observed at least fifteen smaller objects that suddenly -separated from the main body and fell into formation behind it. Ship -number eleven saw an object with a trail several miles long, brilliant -as a peacock’s tail, so luminous that the deck and sea around were -bathed in pale light as the mass crossed overhead. Ship number twelve -reported, “The main body appeared to have a blue-white head, then a -short dark space before the glowing orange-yellow tail. Twenty-seven -separate particles were actually counted as they appeared in the main -plume. Each followed the main body and each developed its own glowing -tail on leaving it.” The main body was several times brighter than -Venus, while the offshoots were each twice the magnitude of Sirius. -One observer described it as round on top and bright blue-white, while -the lower half, which was emitting sparks, seemed to be flattened and -reddish in color. - -During this period of less than five minutes, similar objects were -observed from the ground by witnesses in the Virgin Islands. One man in -Martinique saw a luminous green globe, brighter than Venus, followed -at a slight distance by a flaming red, enormously long, cigar-shaped -object. Observers in Barbados saw two huge objects followed by from -twelve to eighteen “offspring” shaped like the main body; some of the -offspring subdivided to form two small cometlike objects. The object -disappeared into a cloud bank and vanished. No observations were -reported from areas farther south. - -These unidentified objects were reported over an area stretching -from Connecticut to the coast of British Guiana, a distance of about -2700 miles. They flew in a straight course. All of the objects were -noiseless. They were remarkably brilliant. They seemed to have one or -more leaders, to discharge smaller objects, and to fly in formation. -They maintained a substantially horizontal path, and only the last -observers, who saw the things disappear into the cloud bank, noted any -tendency to descend. No fragments were ever found, and all witnesses -agreed that the objects were not like meteors. If all the observers -were describing the same single phenomenon, it was flying at the -incredible speed of more than 16,000 miles an hour. - -What was it? - -With only these facts to build on, an investigator might interpret -the sightings according to his own prejudices: an invasion fleet from -another planet making a reconnaissance in force, the mother ships -discharging the smaller craft at intervals; a mass hallucination; a -peculiar meteoric display. - -Without knowledge of one essential fact, some hundreds of landsmen and -seamen in the United States, the Caribbean islands, and the British -West Indies might now feel firmly convinced that they had witnessed -a genuine “Unknown.” The date was April 14, 1958. The privileged -observers had witnessed the death of Sputnik II, the Russian satellite -launched on November 3, 1957[V-24]. - -The UFO reports inspired by this event presented no problem to the -Air Force. All information on the re-entry of artificial satellites -is immediately accessible to ATIC. Whenever a reported UFO shows any -possible resemblance to a falling satellite, Air Force investigators -check at once with Spacetrack. Astronomers who had been tracking this -satellite as it circled the earth had predicted more than a month in -advance that it would spiral toward the earth and fall sometime between -April 12 and April 15. A few days before the actual event they had -refined their estimate and predicted the time of the fall within a few -hours. - -[V-1] _Meteoritics_, Vol. II, 1954. - -[V-2] Keyhoe, D. E. _The Flying Saucer Conspiracy._ New York: Henry -Holt & Co., 1955. - -[V-3] Biot, J. B. “Account of a Fire-ball which Fell in the -Neighborhood of Laigle.” _Philosophical Magazine_, Vol. XVI (1803), pp. -224–28. - -[V-4] Whipple, F.L., and Hawkins, G. S. “Meteors,” _Handbuch der -Physik_, Vol. LII (1959), pp. 519–64. - -[V-5] Nininger, H. H. _Out of the Sky._ University of Denver Press, -1952; New York: Dover Publications, 1959. - -[V-6] Menzel, D. H. Personal files. - -[V-7] Ruppelt, E. J. _The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects._ -Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1956. - -[V-8] _Meteoritics_, Vol. III, 1955. - -[V-9] _Meteoritics_, Vol. I, 1953. - -[V-10] Millman, P. M., and Halliday, I. “The Near-Infra-Red Spectrum of -Meteors,” _Journal of Planetary and Space Science_, Vol. V (1961), pp. -137–40. - -[V-11] Millman, P. M. “An Analysis of Meteor Spectra,” _Annals of -Harvard College Observatory_, Vol. LXXXII, Nos. 6 and 7 (1917–37), pp. -113–77. - -[V-12] Robey, D. H. “An Hypothesis on the Slow Moving Green Fireballs,” -_Journal of the British Interplanetary Society_, Vol. XVII (1959–60), -pp. 398–411. - -[V-13] Krinov, E. L. _Principles of Meteoritics._ New York: Pergamon -Press, 1960. - -[V-14] O’Keefe, J. A. “Tektites and the Cyrillid Shower,” _Sky and -Telescope_, Vol. XXI (1961), p. 4. - -[V-15] Fesenkov, V. G. “Cloudiness of the Atmosphere Produced by the -Fall of the Tunguska Meteorite of June 30, 1908,” _Meteoritika_, Vol. -VI (1949), p. 8. - -[V-16] Nininger, H. H. “Tracing the Norton, Kansas, Meteorite Fall,” -_Sky and Telescope_, Vol. VII (1948), p. 294. - -[V-17] La Paz, L. “The Achondritic Shower of February 18, 1948,” -_Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific_, Vol. LXI -(1949), p. 63. - -[V-18] Wilson, A. S. [Letter] _Sky and Telescope_, Vol. XXII (1961), p. -3. - -[V-19] Air Force Files. - -[V-20] Tacker, L. J. _Flying Saucers and the U. S. Air Force._ -Princeton, N. J.: D. Van Nostrand Co., 1960. - -[V-21] Chant, C. A. “An Extraordinary Meteoric Display,” _Journal of -the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada_, Vol. VII (1913), pp. 145–215. - -[V-22] Olivier, C. P. “Tables of Hourly Rates Based Upon American -Meteor Society Data.” Interim Report No. 28, Harvard University Radio -Meteor Research Program (May 1958). - -[V-23] Whipple, F. L. Personal files. - -[V-24] Jacchia, L. G. “The Descent of Satellite 1957 Beta One,” -Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, _Special Report No. 15_, July -20, 1958. - - - - -_Chapter_ VI - -LIVING LIGHTS - - -A gamekeeper in Norfolk, England, in the year 1897 observed the flight -of an unusual luminous object. According to his story, he was “... out -one very dark night stopping up fox-earths. While I was so engaged I -saw a very bright blue light pass close to my face and was very much -startled as I saw it going away from me ... I put it down as some -insect.” After the mysterious light reappeared a few nights later, the -gamekeeper prudently began carrying his gun and eventually he managed -a shot at the light. To his amazement he brought down “a poor old -half-starved barn owl, _Tyto alba_, whose body continued to glow for -some hours after death.”[VI-1] - - -_The Luminous Owls of Norfolk_ - -Some ten years later, on the night of February 3, 1907, another -Englishman and his son while taking a walk observed a similar luminous -phenomenon. Apparently about a quarter of a mile away, it moved -horizontally over a course several hundred yards in length, reversed -direction, then rose into the air to the height of forty feet or more. -“It then descended and again went through the same evolutions many -times. The light was slightly reddish in the centre, and resembled -a carriage lamp for which we at first mistook it. We watched it for -twenty minutes and were quite at a loss to ascertain its cause. - -“On December 1st, 1907, when again reaching the top of Twyford Hill, I -noticed what I took to be the lamp of a motor bicycle moving rapidly -along the Bintree road to the south. The light suddenly stopped, rose -into the air above the trees and retraced its course. This it did -several times, sometimes rising twenty to forty feet into the air, and -then rapidly descending. I called my groom and his wife from their -cottage a few hundred yards away, and they watched it with me for -several minutes. I then went to my house about half a mile off, and -from one of the attic windows watched it with my son and three servants -for a short time....” - -The mysterious light appeared frequently for a period of weeks, -maneuvering silently, its luminosity sometimes so great that “it -literally lighted up the branches of the trees as it flew past them.” -Attempts to identify it through a telescope were unsuccessful but -eventually one observer was lucky enough to hear a sound as the light -soared past, and at once identified it by its unique call as a white -owl, _Strix flammea_[VI-2]. - -If these sightings had occurred half a century later, the witnesses -might well have called them flying saucers. - - -_Things That Glow in the Dark_ - -The luminous owls of Norfolk have appeared at intervals since -1866 to frighten the superstitious and puzzle the naturalist, but -ornithologists managed to solve the mystery some years ago[VI-3]. The -birds acquire their temporary luminosity from contact with a common -fungus, _Armillaria mellea_, popularly known as “honey-tuft.” This -mushroom, which mycophagists prize for its delicious flavor, grows in -large clumps on dead trees and stumps. The dark-brown cap is rough, -with fibrous scales, while the white gills are hooked or toothed at -the end and the spores are white. The dense white lacework of the -root system or mycelium, which gives off a phosphorescent light, may -permeate the entire tree and extend even into the fibers at the base of -the tree. Wood infested with the fungus can glow in the dark, sometimes -so brightly that a man could read his watch by its light. - -Many of the tales of fox fire, corpse candles, and lanternmen -undoubtedly come from glimpses of this fungoid phosphorescence. Owls -that seek refuge in the dark interiors of hollow trees during the -daytime may brush against the veins of the mycelium, which adheres to -the feathered body. Flitting about at night, the luminous bird becomes -the dancing flame of the will o’ the wisp. - -Other luminous mushrooms abound in woods, swamps, and marshy areas. -Decaying, they may produce an unearthly light and can give off a -peculiarly unpleasant odor. Unexpectedly seeing and smelling a bird -touched with the substance, on a dark night, a witness might well feel -bewildered and even frightened. _Polyporus sulfureus_, which grows in -dense masses on dead trees, often phosphoresces brilliantly in the -early stages of its decay, as does _Clytocobe illudens_, the jack o’ -lantern. In the tropics these fungi may produce enough light to read -by. Birds, insects, and animals that brush against them can carry -away some of the luminous material and thus, for a time, appear to be -luminous themselves. - -Most of us recognize fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms--which are -not worms but beetles. The wingless females must creep on the surface -of ground or branch, but the winged males flit through the air. These -sparkling creatures form part of the diet of birds and bats, and when -carried aloft to be consumed in flight can make one more mysterious, -swiftly moving light to frighten the apprehensive. The earth teems -with other self-luminous organisms such as frogs’ eggs, which most -of us have never seen and would not recognize. Luminous parasites -sometimes live in the feathers of birds and make them glow. The plumage -of the great blue heron, a North American bird, can emit a pale light -sometimes known as the birds’s “lantern” because it is supposed to -help him while fishing. Fish or meat when decaying can become infected -with luminous bacteria and thus shine brilliantly in the dark. The sea -is filled with phosphorescent fish and plants which help perpetuate -tales of sea serpents. Some waters in the Caribbean contain so dense a -population of phosphorescent algae that a bird, dipping its wings to -snatch a meal, will glow for minutes after it soars again into the air. -These luminous birds, innocently fishing for dinner, probably account -for many reports that flying saucers come and go from underwater[VI-4]. - -Many of the erratically behaving UFOs observed at night over wooded -areas, swamps, and marshes have undoubtedly been one of these will o’ -the wisps--winged creatures glowing with borrowed fire. Unfortunately -proof of this explanation is rarely possible. Before the startled -observer can recover his wits the flitting “saucer” has gone, taking -with it the evidence of its identity. - -Fear of the unknown is not confined to _Homo sapiens_. A news item -published in England a few years ago reveals that the animal kingdom, -too, may have its ghosts. Under the headline, _Owl Attacks Luminous -Man_, the article reads: - -“A Bournemouth long-distance runner, Ken Baily, was attacked by an owl -last night when he was running through the centre of Bournemouth in a -luminous track suit. The bird ripped the front of his suit before it -flew back into the trees. - -“Baily said afterwards: ‘I heard it hooting before it attacked. The -suit is luminous so that motorists can see me, but if it attracts owls -like this I’d rather take a chance with the traffic.’”[VI-5] - - -_Sea Gulls as UFOs_ - -Early in the afternoon of December 10, 1941, three days after the -attack on Pearl Harbor, a research technician standing at the -fourth-floor window of a laboratory in Boston saw a number of bright -objects maneuvering high in the sky and slowly descending over the -city. Making a quick guess at their distance, size, and speed, he -concluded that the objects were parachutes, the first of a Japanese -invasion. Only after they had dropped to the level of a nearby church -spire was he able to gain the right perspective, correct his estimates, -and identify the objects as sea gulls drifting down with the winds. - -A decade later, the public was no longer worried about danger from -Japan but was concerned about possible invasion from outer space. Sea -gulls flashing in the sun were interpreted not as parachutes but as -flying saucers. - -Many luminous UFOs have in fact been ordinary living creatures, -normal inhabitants of the earth--owls that had acquired a temporary -luminosity, sea gulls reflecting the sunlight, flights of birds -reflecting the lights of a town. But in trying to identify them, the -witness is influenced by the pattern of his time. In 1897 and 1907 the -world seemed reasonably secure. Observers of mysterious lights made -fairly accurate estimates of their distance and size and compared -them to familiar, everyday things--an insect and a carriage lamp. In -1941, three days after Pearl Harbor, the world was at war and the -observer’s imagination, stimulated by a hundred rumors of imminent -Japanese invasion, transformed cruising sea gulls into parachutes. By -1950, when space travel had become at least a theoretical possibility -and scientists were discussing ways to reach the moon, uneasy persons -fantastically overestimated the height and size of mysterious lights in -the sky and sometimes saw birds as spaceships from another planet. - -A well-publicized incident took place on the morning of July 16, 1952, -when a Coast Guard photographer at Salem, Massachusetts, happened to -glance out of a window and see four bright, egg-shaped objects moving -in the sky. Grabbing his camera, he managed to take a picture before -the objects were lost from view. According to some saucer enthusiasts, -certain reproductions of the photograph show typical UFOs shaped like -two saucers arranged face to face, as though joined by a ring at the -mid-line[VI-6]. The official Coast Guard photograph however, shows -merely four bright, fuzzy-edged blurs arranged in a rough V formation. -Only imagination could convert these spots of light into spaceships. -Many readers of this book have probably seen similar objects gleaming -briefly in the sun, mysterious for the moment, and then identified -them as gulls or airplanes when a shift in orientation cut down the -reflection. - -On the morning of the Coast Guard photograph the day was exceptionally -clear, the sun extremely bright, and the sky a deep blue unusual on the -Massachusetts coast. Under these circumstances, objects reflecting the -sun look larger and brighter than normal. Because the picture was taken -with a dirty lens through a window, the images were further distorted. -Since the UFOs did not produce highlights on the tops of the cars in -the foreground, as luminous objects overhead would have done, they were -probably not in the sky at all. Elaborate Air Force experiments with -photo-flood lamps showed that the images were reflections in the window -glass from an interior light source behind the camera (see Plate IVa). - -Weird and frightening apparitions do occur; Air Force files bulge with -reports suggesting that unfamiliar objects are moving around us day -and night, by land, sea, and air. Imagination endows them with life or -turns them into mysterious, saucer-shaped craft manned by creatures -from Mars, Venus, or even from some planet of a star beyond our solar -system. The UFO photographed over France on October 2, 1954 (a weekend -when every French village was reporting saucers by the dozen), shows -no details and might be almost anything: a bird, a balloon, a cloud of -gossamer, the sun, a plane, or merely the result of a lens defect (see -Plate IVb). - -How many of the UFOs listed in the saucer publications originate from -birds, insects, and animals we cannot know, but the number must be -large. Most of us have only a sketchy acquaintance with the non-human -forms of life that share the earth with us. Seeing an unfamiliar -creature suddenly, or a familiar creature under unusual circumstances, -we often imagine it to be whatever we most fear--vengeful spirits of -the departed, fire-breathing dragons, devils, parachutes, or flying -saucers. - - -_The Lubbock Lights_ - -The luminous objects sighted in Texas during the last week of -August, 1951, would probably have been explained and forgotten in a -week’s time, except for the publication of alleged photographs of -the unknowns. This complication converted a simple incident into a -conglomerate of puzzles which, though actually unrelated, were lumped -together to form a classic Unknown. The most detailed published account -of this case[VI-7, p. 133 ff.] contains a number of statements that -differ in detail from those in the official files. When discrepancies -exist, the facts as given in this chapter are those in the original Air -Force reports[VI-8]. - -The Saturday night of August 25, 1951, was uncomfortably hot in the -Southwest, and many persons spent the evening in the relative coolness -out of doors. In the town of Lubbock, a professor of geology was -sitting in his yard with two guests, fellow members of the faculty, -discussing micrometeorites and counting meteors, which for several -nights had been more numerous than usual. The sky was clear and -cloudless and seeing conditions were ideal. About 9:20 the men noticed -a group of fifteen to twenty lights passing silently overhead, going -from north to south. They were obviously not meteors or planes, but -disappeared too quickly to be identified. About an hour later a second -group of lights appeared, forming a rough semicircle or crescent like a -string of beads. Shortly before midnight a third group soared overhead -in a random pattern (see Figure 11). - -[Illustration: _Figure 11._ Schematic sketch of lights observed by the -professors at Lubbock, Texas. Left, pattern in the first and third -sightings; right, pattern in the second sighting.] - -Trying to account for the phenomenon, the men agreed that all three -flights had appeared suddenly, not gradually, in about the same part of -the sky. Only the second had shown any sort of pattern, all had moved -silently from north to south, their luminosity was not constant but had -varied in intensity, and all had disappeared suddenly, not gradually, -at about the same point in the sky. The men did not agree on the color, -which they described as yellowish to white, with a soft glow. The -lights had passed too swiftly for the men to locate them in relation to -specific stars and there were no clouds in the sky; thus they had no -known reference points by which to judge altitude, distance, or size. -Since the lights had apparently moved over about 30 degrees of sky in -one second, however, and the observers estimated the altitude as 5000 -to 50,000 feet, the unknowns must have had an enormous size and an -incredible speed of from 1800 to 18,000 miles an hour--typical flying -saucers. - -Understandably curious, the host telephoned the managing editor of -the local newspaper, the Lubbock _Evening Avalanche_, hoping that a -printed account would elicit more information from other persons who -had noticed the mysterious lights. The report appeared in the Sunday -paper, August 26, but in the days that followed, no reader responded. - -Then on Friday August 31, five days after the original story had -appeared and apparently died, it suddenly came to life. A college -freshman who occasionally sold news photographs to the Lubbock paper -brought in five pictures of a group of mysterious lights he had -photographed the night before. He had been lying in bed next to an open -window, he explained, and shortly before midnight he had observed a -formation of brilliant lights moving rapidly across the sky. Grabbing -his camera, a Kodak 35-mm., he had rushed out into the yard and, after -a brief wait, had been able to photograph two similar flights that -raced overhead a few minutes apart. Each light had been brighter than -Venus, they had maintained a perfect V formation, and had sped from -horizon to horizon in a mere four or five seconds. Yet this amazing -apparition had apparently gone unnoticed by all except the lucky -amateur. - -Fearing a hoax, both the editor and the staff photographer hesitated -but, since the negatives displayed no obvious evidence of fraud, they -finally bought and printed the pictures and distributed them over the -country through the United Press. - -People all over the nation could now argue the question: What were the -Lubbock lights? A few said flying saucers. Many Texans said ducks, -plover, or other migratory fowl. But the things in the pictures didn’t -look like birds; and if they weren’t birds, what were they? Some -persons bluntly called them a hoax. - -Impelled perhaps by the growing publicity, the staff photographer of -the _Evening Avalanche_ several times tried to duplicate the pictures -by photographing flights of birds at night. He allowed himself better -equipment--a Speedgraphic camera loaded with a tungsten ASA 80 film, -and a GE no. 22 flashbulb in a concentrating reflector. Opening -the camera to f 4.7 at 1/10 second, he went up to the roof of the -newspaper building to try his luck. After a brief wait he was able to -photograph a flock of birds that appeared high overhead, reflecting the -mercury-vapor lights of the street, flying noiselessly in a “ragged” V -formation, but the image on the negative proved too faint for use. The -next night he tried again, using a Kodak Reflex set at f 3.5, Super XX -film, at 1/10 second, plus the flashbulb and concentrating reflector. -The birds appeared on schedule, but again the images proved too faint -for use. The experimenter concluded, probably correctly, that the -amateur must have photographed something much brighter than birds. - -Not until late October, nearly two months after the original incident, -did the Air Force receive official notice of the mystery at Lubbock, -and Captain Ruppelt of ATIC arrived to interview witnesses in Lubbock -and the neighboring towns of Lamessa, Brownfield, and Big Spring. He -quickly discovered that he had two mysteries to solve instead of one -since, according to the witnesses who had started all the excitement, -the objects shown in the pictures were wholly unlike the luminous -phenomena observed by the three professors. The pictured lights formed -a perfectly geometrical, flat V, while the original objects had formed -a random pattern. Furthermore the pictures showed brilliant, sharply -outlined lights as intense as unshaded electric bulbs, while the -original objects had been softly glowing. - -Meanwhile the professors themselves had been trying to solve their own -mystery. During September and October they had observed at least a -dozen similar flights, and in an attempt to obtain the true altitude -of the objects they had organized a field survey, operating in the -country to achieve better seeing conditions. Two groups of observers -were stationed at two different points, a measured distance apart, -with radio communication between the two. By making simultaneous -observations, they hoped to calculate the true height of the objects -and thus obtain accurate estimates of size and speed. This well-planned -experiment failed because the lights never appeared to the watchers in -the country even on nights when they were clearly visible in the town. -Nevertheless the scientists did establish one fact: the altitude could -not be as high as 50,000 feet, their original estimate. An astronomer -in the group, calculating from the few data available, showed that the -height must have been only 2000 to 3000 feet, less than a tenth of the -first estimate. - -Continuing his investigation, Captain Ruppelt found that other persons -had seen the lights on the night of August 25--and identified them. - -At Brownfield, Texas, some thirty miles from Lubbock, a rancher and his -wife had been sitting in their back yard when they noticed a group of -fifteen to twenty lights flying overhead from north to south, silently, -in no particular formation. They appeared to be very high and had “a -kind of glow, a little bigger than a star.” Some time later a second -group flew over. When a third group appeared, flying lower, he could -see that they were birds; as they moved on to the south and one of the -birds emitted a cry, he recognized the familiar call of the plover. -Plover have a wing span of a foot and their oily white breasts form an -excellent surface for reflecting the lights beneath them. - -Like most old-time residents of the area, the rancher was accustomed -to the yearly exodus of migratory fowl. Traveling at night in groups -of six to twenty, they usually flew at 1000 feet or lower at a maximum -speed of about fifty miles an hour in the weeks from late August to -mid-November. The rancher had read about the professors’ sighting, -which sounded exactly like his own. It would have baffled him, too, he -said, if he had not gotten a good look when the third flight circled -the house and if he had not happened to hear the single call. - -Another resident reported, much later, that he had often seen such -lights and recognized them as birds. One night he had noticed “a -formation of ducks pass over so low that you could actually see the -whole bodies with their shiny white undersides glowing.” At other times -he had seen ducks flying at low altitudes with only the undersides -glowing and creating an illusion of objects moving very fast at a high -altitude[VI-9]. - -In spite of the overwhelming evidence that the original objects had -been birds, probably plover, reflecting the city’s lights, Captain -Ruppelt chose to regard them as mysterious and listed the professors’ -sighting as an Unknown. Several years later he wrote that a natural -explanation did exist but, for some reason, he had promised not -to divulge it[VI-7, p. 150]. Still later, he asserted without -amplification that the lights had been night-flying moths reflecting -the bluish green of mercury-vapor street lights[VI-10, p. 276]--a -surprising anticlimax, in view of his earlier secrecy. In a reanalysis -of the facts made in 1959, Major (now Lieutenant Colonel) R. J. Friend -of ATIC and Dr. J. Allen Hynek, science consultant, determined beyond -doubt that the objects had been plover. - - -_The Lubbock Pictures_ - -The problem of the photographs remained. In Dayton, Air Force experts -studied the four available negatives. - -The photographer had used a Kodak 35-mm. camera, lens at 3.5, Plus-X -film, and an exposure time of 1/10 second. The negatives were badly -scratched and dirty from much handling. According to the photographer’s -story, each flight of unknowns had moved from horizon to horizon in -four to five seconds and had passed directly overhead; he had “panned” -his camera with the movement of the objects and had managed to snap two -pictures during one flight and three during the next. - -Analysis yielded no suggestion that the negatives had been tampered -with but they offered no clue to the background, identity, height, -distance, or speed of the things shown. The images themselves, however, -aroused some doubts. Each frame showed twenty bright spots against a -uniform dark background. No trace of stars or starlight could be found, -although the sky that night had been clear and cloudless. The spots -showed evidence of slight motion during the exposure but the amount of -blurring was amazingly slight, considering the speed with which the -photographer claimed to have moved his Kodak. Professional cameramen -tried repeatedly to duplicate the performance, but failed. The most -successful try produced only two pictures, badly blurred, in four -seconds. - -The most crucial discrepancy between negatives and story, however, -was revealed by the pattern of the spots, which formed a flat V. -The orientation of the V was the same on all the negatives. If the -formation had actually passed directly overhead and the photographer -had panned with it, as he claimed, then he must have taken all his -pictures either as the lights approached him or as they receded. If -he had taken two successive pictures, one as the formation approached -and the next as it receded, the V would have reversed position in -the second picture--V would have changed to ∧--unless he had managed -to stand on his head while taking the second picture. And if he had -actually taken all his pictures either as the lights approached or as -they receded, he had performed the incredible feat of obtaining two -clear, sharp photographs, while panning, in a mere two seconds. - -Although these facts suggested that the explanation given for the -pictures was at least highly improbable, Air Force experts refrained -from labeling them frauds. Professional photographers can undoubtedly -make various guesses as to how the pictures were made and the possible -identity of the V of bright spots, but proof is impossible. In the Air -Force files they remain in the category of Unknowns. - - -_Other Winged UFOs_ - -During the era of the saucers, winged creatures were responsible -for many UFO stories. But winged creatures do not stay put, and in -flying away they usually take with them the evidence that the alleged -spaceships were actually only birds or insects. - -One such incident occurred at Downey, California, on May 29, 1951. Late -in the afternoon three technical writers for North American Aviation -were standing outdoors chatting and looking at the sky when suddenly -they noticed about thirty glowing, meteorlike objects moving in the -east, about 45 degrees above the horizon. They made no sound and left -no trail. Emitting an intense electric-blue light, the objects made -fantastic right-angled turns and swept across the sky in an undulating -vertical formation, apparently covering about 90 degrees of sky in -about 25 seconds. The diameters of the objects were estimated at 30 -feet and the speed at 1700 miles an hour[VI-11]. - -Many persons concluded that the unknowns must be interplanetary in -origin because, as _Life_ magazine commented, no natural object -hurtling at such a speed could execute a right-angled turn, and no -known machine could fly so fast without making a sound or leaving a -trail. No one could quarrel with this statement, but it has no obvious -relation to the incident in question. Technical writers are not -necessarily trained observers, and these witnesses had no way to make -a reliable estimate of the height of the objects. Without an accurate -estimate of at least one quantity--true altitude, true size, or true -speed--the others are meaningless. The unknowns were probably birds, -but they could equally well have been butterflies, bits of paper, or -merely ashes blowing over the two-story building. - -Winged creatures sometimes avoid the interplanetary label only by -staying in sight long enough to be examined. About sundown on May 19, -1955, switchboards at police stations in the Los Angeles area were -swamped by telephone calls reporting a fleet of silvery flying saucers, -changing formation with incredible speeds “as if playing tag in the -sky.” One witness, however, had the presence of mind to get out his -binoculars and look at the objects; they were birds with dark wing -tips. Thinking they might be geese, he called the State Division of -Fish and Game, which identified the “saucers” as a flock of _Pelicanus -erythrorhynchos_, an inland species of pelican that float on the -prevailing wind currents[VI-12]. - -Sometimes an observer identifies such objects correctly, but later -begins to doubt his own judgment. About 7:30 in the evening of August -26, 1956, a man driving along a highway in California noticed a flock -of about nine small birds flying northward, dark against the blue sky. -In a random group, they moved freely among themselves as birds do but -continued in a northern direction. The witness watched the birds as -carefully as possible, but the intermittent glimpses possible when -a man is driving a car did not allow him to make good estimates of -their size or height. Nevertheless, he guessed at their distance and -calculated that they covered an arc of 60 degrees in five seconds, -which would mean a speed of about 1000 miles an hour. - -Instead of questioning the accuracy of his estimate, for some reason he -doubted his first identification. If the objects could fly 1000 miles -an hour, he reasoned, then they were not birds after all, and must be -flying saucers![VI-13] - - -_The Tremonton Movies_ - -One of the most famous controversies resulting from a flight of birds -centered on the Tremonton, Utah, films of UFOs. - -On the morning of July 2, 1952, a Navy photographer and his family -were on their way to California, driving near the town of Tremonton, -Utah, not far from the Great Salt Lake. At about 11:10 A.M. the man’s -wife noticed something unusual in the sky. Stopping the car, the man -observed about a dozen shiny, disklike objects “milling around the sky -in a rough formation.” Getting out his movie camera, a Bell and Howell -16-mm. equipped with a 3-inch telephoto lens, he started photographing -the group. Just before it disappeared toward the west, one object left -the main group and headed east. The photographer obtained about forty -feet of film before the objects vanished. After developing the film, he -sent it to the Air Force for evaluation, together with his opinion that -the objects had been huge and had traveled at very high altitude at -supersonic speeds. This was only an impression, however, for as he told -investigators from ATIC: “There was no reference point in the sky and -it was impossible for me to make any estimate of speed, size, altitude, -or distance.”[VI-8] The pictures are of such poor quality and show -so little that even the most enthusiastic home-movie fan today would -hesitate to show them to his friends. Only a stimulated imagination -could suggest that the moving objects are anything but very badly -photographed birds. - -The movies show nothing that can be recognized--merely bright blurs of -light moving at random. Their luminosity is not constant, and the spots -fade out and then become bright again. The frames include no clouds, -no trees, no house, no hill--no known reference point by which to -calculate the altitude, size, or distance of the moving lights. After -exhaustive study the photographic experts concluded that the negatives -had not been tampered with and that, unlike the Lubbock stills, the -pictures had been made exactly as described. But pictures of what? The -objects were not balloons and not planes. At the time, the experts -also rejected the theory that they might be birds because, in their -[mistaken] opinion, birds could not produce such bright reflections. - -If the Tremonton movies contained no proof that the objects were birds, -still less did they contain proof that they were round machines from -outer space, and ATIC finally classified the sighting as “Unknown.” -Later, however, Captain Ruppelt noted the strong resemblance to sea -gulls he observed “riding a thermal” in the sky above San Francisco. -They were “so high that you couldn’t see them until they banked just -a certain way; then they appeared to be a bright white flash, much -larger than one would expect from sea gulls.” [VI-10, p. 290] - -Air Force investigators later concluded that the famous Tremonton -movies show merely the large white gulls that soar near Utah’s Great -Salt Lake. The objects were photographed shortly before noon on a -hot summer’s day, against a deep-blue sky without any clouds to -obscure the high sun. The fading and brightening of the lights, their -individual motion within the group, and the one object that suddenly -left the group, all are consistent with the behavior of a flock of -birds, probably gulls, whose plumage is reflecting the sun. The glossy -feathers of these birds can flash as brilliantly as a satiny metal -surface as they circle and change position with respect to the sun. The -birds can be dazzling against the clear, dark-blue sky of the western -states. So brilliant is the flash that it wholly obscures the object -that is reflecting the light. - -Like many other puzzling UFO reports, the objects in the Tremonton -movies were living lights--a case for the ornithologist rather than the -Air Force. - -A bright light moving erratically as it crossed and recrossed the field -of view caused an experienced pilot and copilot to execute violent and -evasive maneuvers in a flight over the dark Pacific.[VI-14] The errant -UFO proved to be only a firefly inadvertently trapped between the panes -of the double windshield. - -[VI-1] Rolfe, F. _Eastern Daily Press_, January 16, 1908. - -[VI-2] Purdy, R. J. “The occasional luminosity of the White Owl (_Strix -flammea_),” _Transactions of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists -Society_, Vol. VIII (1904–1909), p. 547. - -[VI-3] Gurney, J. H. _The Zoologist_, No. 802 (April 1908), p. 121. - -[VI-4] Boston _Traveller_, Oct. 30, 1961. - -[VI-5] London _Daily Telegraph_, November 8, 1958. - -[VI-6] Maney, C. A., and Hall, R. _The Challenge of Unidentified Flying -Objects._ Washington, D.C., 1961. - -[VI-7] Ruppelt, E. J. _The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects._ -Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1956. - -[VI-8] Air Force Files. - -[VI-9] Menzel, D. H. Personal files. - -[VI-10] Ruppelt, E. J. _The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects._ -Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., reprint, 1960. - -[VI-11] _Life_ magazine, April 7, 1952. - -[VI-12] Los Angeles _Times_, May 21, 1955. - -[VI-13] Case 201, CRIFO _Orbit_, Vol. III (Oct. 5, 1956). - -[VI-14] Major William T. Coleman. Personal communication. - - - - -_Chapter_ VII - -PANIC - - -The summer of 1952, the period that Captain Ruppelt called “the big -flap,” offers a history of the UFO mania in capsule form. If the -newspapers were to be believed, the heavens were crowded with armadas -of spaceships both visible and invisible. There was even a monster -story to add spice to the tales. - -Yet the panic was largely an artificial creation. All spring the -nation’s movie-goers had been flocking to see a well-made thriller, -_The Day the Earth Stood Still_, in which a mysterious glowing object -appears in the sky over Washington, D.C., and lands in the middle -of the city. The object proves to be a flying saucer from another -planet, whose inhabitants want only to help the human race. Looking -something like a huge poached egg, a hump in the center sloping down -to a circular rim, the pictured vehicle offered a dramatic example to -anyone in the mood to see a spaceship but not quite sure how it should -look. In fact, many of the saucers described in the months and years -following were obviously based on this model. - -The summer’s hysteria was also nurtured by the fears of some Air -Force investigators who were convinced that UFOs were intelligently -controlled craft originating outside the earth[VII-1, p. 286]. -Although these officials realized that whenever an unusually good -saucer story appeared in the papers the number of sightings increased -sharply in the days following, they apparently did not consider the -possibility that the increase resulted from the power of suggestion. -This apprehensive attitude, plus three publications in the spring of -1952, made the summer’s panic almost inevitable. - - -_Growth of a Panic_ - -On April 4 _Life_ magazine published an article whose title might well -have alarmed the most stolid: “Have We Visitors from Outer Space?” -Presenting ten “insoluble” cases, the article managed to suggest -without exactly saying so that interplanetary visitors were among us. -The very next day, April 5, the Air Force announced a new directive, -ordering the commanding officers of all Air Force installations to -make immediate, high-priority reports of all UFO sightings in their -areas[VII-1, p. 178]. Reasonably inferring from the _Life_ article -and from the new directive that Defense officials were concerned by the -threat of UFOs, newspapers gave space to all tales of flying saucers. -_Look_ magazine then jumped on the bandwagon and on June 24 published -an article, “Hunt for the Flying Saucers!” The public responded -enthusiastically. Hypnotized by the prestige of these magazines, whose -saucer articles seemed to have the support of the Air Force, thousands -of well-intentioned but poorly equipped observers joined in the hunt, -watched the skies, and began to cry “Tally-ho!” at every streak of -light. - -Nature cooperated. As in every summer, she offered a rich display of -regular meteor showers. By mid-July Aquarids in large numbers are -streaking through the sky, to continue into mid-August, and by the -beginning of August the Perseids have arrived to join the summer’s -parade. The records of the American Meteor Society reflect this rise -in the number of meteors. In the nights from July 10 to 31, 1952, five -observers stationed in California, Oregon, Missouri, Iowa, and Long -Island, New York, counted a total of more than 2000 meteors in some -eighty-five hours of watching. The smallest number reported by a single -observer in any one hour was nine; the highest was fifty[VII-2]. - -Nature not only offered dramatic fireworks in the sky; she also -produced exactly the right conditions for viewing them. During June -and July an unprecedented heat wave lay over the entire East, driving -sweltering citizens out of doors to savor the relative coolness of the -night air. Furthermore, the nights were dark. The moon began to wane -on July 7, and until nearly the end of the month there was little -moonlight to dim the brilliance of the meteors flashing through the -heavens. No wonder that frightened people hunting for saucers should -have had so little trouble finding them, when the sky seemed to be -teeming with UFOs. - -By the middle of July the nine-man investigating force at ATIC was all -but buried in saucer reports--more than forty a day, far too many to -handle either promptly or adequately. Only a very lengthy history of -the saucer era could describe and account for each one of the hundreds -of UFOs reported during those weeks. A few of the most publicized -incidents are listed here: - - July 2. A group of UFOs photographed with a movie camera near - Tremonton, Utah (p. 130). - - July 5. A UFO reported over an atomic plant at Hanford, - Washington. (A Skyhook balloon.)[VII-1, p. 203] - - July 7. Flying saucer reported by hundreds of persons in - the Pacific Northwest. (This spectacular daytime meteor was - visible for a distance of 500 miles on either side of its path - and was reported from Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, - California, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. It made no sound and - was so brilliant that observers called it the “Sunshine - Fireball.”)[VII-3] - - July 12. A flying saucer, glowing blue-white, was reported over - Indiana. (Another fine meteor.)[VII-1, p. 203] - - July 13–18. Flying saucers reported from all states in the - Union. (Observers for the American Meteor Society counted an - average of fifteen meteors per hour on those nights.) - - July 14. A group of saucers over Chesapeake Bay and Norfolk, - Virginia (p. 256). - - July 16. Saucers photographed by Coast Guardsman, Salem, - Massachusetts (p. 122). - -The sighting hysteria was approaching the critical mass, and no special -wisdom was required to see that an explosion was inevitable. The only -question was: Where would it occur? The panic finally reached its -climax in the nation’s capital: - - July 19. Flying saucers (invisible) invade Washington, D.C. - (See _Chapter_ VIII.) - - July 26. Saucers again invade Washington (p. 155). - - July 27. Saucers over Manhattan Beach, California (p. 49). - - July 29. Saucers over Port Huron, Michigan (p. 160). - - August 1. Saucer over Bellefontaine, Ohio (p. 162). - -Most of these and hundreds of other UFOs were eventually identified as -meteors, stars, balloons, jet planes, birds, searchlights, and radar -angels. About the only aerial phenomenon that was not mistaken for a -flying saucer during these weeks of panic was the planet Venus. Until -the end of August it was too near the sun to be visible. - - -_The Scoutmaster’s UFO_ - -True to the pattern set during 1947, the first summer of the saucers, -the panic of 1952 did not end without an elaborate hoax and a good -monster story. - -The famous “Scoutmaster” incident occurred at West Palm Beach, Florida, -on the night of August 19[VII-1, p. 229]. According to the report -given the Intelligence officer at the local air base, the scoutmaster -(an ex-Marine) had offered to drive four of the boys to their homes -at the close of the evening’s meeting. While traveling over a country -road bordered by scrub pine and palmetto thickets, he had noticed some -mysterious lights among the pines and decided he must investigate. -Leaving the frightened boys in the car with instructions to go for -help if he had not returned in fifteen minutes, he took his machete -and two flashlights and bravely set off into the dangerous woods. He -was found some time later by the boys, the constable, and the deputy -sheriff, and was apparently terrified. When he entered the woods, he -said, he noticed a peculiar odor and felt an oppressive sensation of -heat. On looking up, he saw hovering above him a dark circular object -with a turretlike dome in the middle, so large that it blotted out most -of the sky. When he went closer, a door opened, a ball of fire emerged -and drifted toward him, enveloped him, and rendered him unconscious. He -called on the boys to confirm the presence of the strange lights and -the huge machine, and as further proof he exhibited burns in his cap and -on his face and arms. - -Since scoutmasters are traditionally upright citizens, the story -seemed to merit attention. Investigators from ATIC visited the scene, -interviewed all persons concerned, and sent the cap and the machete to -Dayton for analysis. Very soon, however, the drama began to fall apart. -The scoutmaster, after being interviewed by Air Force investigators, -assumed an aura of mystery and stated publicly that he had been warned -not to talk. At the same time he hired a press agent and offered to -sell his story to the newspapers. A study of the landscape showed -that the boys could not have seen any “machine” from the road. The -townspeople did not consider the woods dangerous. Aircraft preparing to -land at the airport regularly flew over the area in question with their -landing lights on; to a person on the road, the lights might seem to be -flitting through the woods. Furthermore the study showed that the scene -had been set in advance for a frightening incident. As they drove along -the lonely road, the scoutmaster had been talking about flying saucers -and, after he stopped the car, had warned the boys that they might -need to go for help. The man’s reputation for veracity, too, began to -melt away, and one townsman remarked that if the scoutmaster claimed -that the sun was shining, he’d look up to see for himself before -accepting the statement. The knife and cap showed no radioactivity. The -laboratory report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation showed that -the burn on the cap was made by a cigarette, and the “burns” on the -hand and arm proved to be only superficial scorching of the hair and -could easily have been produced by the flame of a kitchen match. - -This investigation cost the usual amount of time and money, but it was -unquestionably a hoax[VII-4]. - - -_Monster in West Virginia_ - -The final incident in the summer’s panic occurred on the evening -of September 12 when a family group near the town of Sutton, West -Virginia, saw a flaming object flash across the sky and apparently -land on a nearby hill. Taking their flashlights, they set out to -investigate and, on reaching the hill, smelled an unpleasant odor. When -they turned on their flashlights, they stated, they saw two red eyes -glaring at them; a huge monster, ten feet tall, breathing fire, with a -bright-green body and a blood-red face, waddled toward them, and they -turned and ran[VII-5]. - -Air Force investigators concluded immediately that the flaming object -first seen was the meteor observed that night by thousands of persons -in Virginia and West Virginia and reported officially to various -observatories. What the frightened family saw when they reached the -hilltop and flashed the light was probably the glowing eyes or body of -some mundane creature of the woods. A local group of civilian saucer -investigators rejected this explanation, as usual, and after making its -own study concluded that the monster story could very well have been -true! - -The monster is now enshrined in West Virginia history[VII-5], and forms -the subject of a new ballad written by Cindy Coy and set to the tune of -“Sweet Betsy from Pike.” One verse and the chorus will suffice: - - The size of the phantom was a sight to behold, - Green eyes and red face, so the story was told. - It floated in air with fingers of flame. - It was gone with a hiss just as quick as it came. - - Chorus: - - Oh, Phantom of Flatwoods, from Moon or from Mars, - Maybe from God and not from the stars, - Please tell us why you fly o’er our trees - The end of the world or an omen of peace? - - -_The Panel of Civilian Scientists_ - -When after three months of constant threat no flying saucers had yet -tried to invade the country, the acute phase of the panic subsided. -Nevertheless, responsible officials in the Department of Defense -were uneasy, and Air Defense was particularly worried by the problem -of the radar phantoms, whose cause was not fully understood (see -_Chapter_ VIII). Even if UFOs proved to be normal phenomena, other -very real dangers existed in the situation. If the public believed -in the possibility of extraterrestrial antagonists, a clever enemy -on earth simply by fabricating a few incidents could easily induce a -mass hysteria that might paralyze the country. Also, if the number -of saucer reports should be greatly multiplied by some artificial -stimulus, their sheer numbers would clog communication channels, -interfere with the Early Warning System, and at a time of imminent -attack from another part of the globe might cause a disastrous three- -or four-hour delay in the activation of the Air Force network. - -Government officials, uncertain of the facts, were reluctant to decide -or to state whether there was or was not convincing evidence of -extraterrestrial surveillance. - -To clear up the potentially explosive atmosphere, the Office of -Scientific Intelligence (OSI), under the Central Intelligence Agency, -decided to consult outstanding civilian experts and invited certain -eminent scientists to study and evaluate the evidence. For this purpose -Air Force investigators assembled the complete data on the cases -they considered most significant. They also prepared, on their own -initiative, an unofficial report setting forth the evidence which, in -the opinion of several investigators, proved conclusively that UFOs -were interplanetary objects operating under intelligent control. - -After a preliminary meeting late in November 1952, the panel met on -January 12, 1953, to begin their study. The chairman was the late -Dr. H. P. Robertson, mathematician and physicist, of the California -Institute of Technology at Pasadena. The other members were Dr. Luis -W. Alvarez, physicist, of the University of California at Berkeley; -Dr. Lloyd V. Berkner, an expert on radio propagation; Dr. Samuel -A. Goudsmit, physicist, of Brookhaven National Laboratory; and Dr. -Thornton W. Page, astronomer, of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. -Also present were several officers of the OSI. To avoid possible bias, -Air Force officers who had actively worked on UFO cases and civilians -who were closely identified with such studies were not asked to attend. -The cases studied included all the “classics,” such as the Tremonton -and other movies, the Mantell and Gorman affairs, the radar sightings -at Washington, D.C., as well as other less well-known reports. - -One incident that particularly engaged the attention of the panel, -and would probably have become a famous classic except that Air -Force investigators had kept it a strict secret, was the sighting at -Presque Isle Air Force Base in northern Maine. On October 10, 1952, -at about 10 P.M. E.S.T., a group of weather observers had noticed a -bright-orange object hovering low on the eastern horizon and had set -up a theodolite to measure its altitude and bearing. As the glowing -unknown slowly rose higher above the horizon and seemed to come closer, -it appeared through the telescope of the theodolite as a circular disk -accompanied by four flickering green lights, two on each side. Alarmed -by this spectacular phenomenon, the observers called the Air Force -Base at Limestone, some twenty miles north and east, to ask whether -the object was visible there. It was. Setting up a theodolite, the -Limestone observers measured the height and bearing, and both groups of -observers sent the recorded data to ATIC. - -[Illustration: _Figure 12a._ The Presque Isle sighting from two -stations; the erroneous determination of North at Limestone seems to -indicate a nearby UFO.] - -Here was the kind of situation the investigators had been hoping for: -simultaneous observations of a single object, made from two different -stations a known distance apart. Calculations based on the altitudes -and bearings reported by the two stations yielded fantastic results. In -a plot of the data (shown schematically in Figure 12a) the prolonged -lines intersected, indicating a group of unknowns hovering 100 miles -above the earth and more than 50 miles off the Maine coast, of -tremendous size and moving at high speed. Concluding that the objects -must have come from outer space, or were possibly a new type of -orbiting vehicle of Russian origin, the Air Force had promptly clamped -down the security lid. When ATIC’s science consultant, Dr. J. Allen -Hynek, looked at the data, he just as promptly disagreed with these -ideas and clearly identified the unknown as the planet Jupiter, which -had risen at 6:03 P.M. E.S.T. and at 10:00 was the brightest object -in the eastern sky. The believers in the extraterrestrial theory were -then in the majority at ATIC, however. They had refused to accept the -identification, and submitted the Presque Isle sighting to the panel as -a prize example of UFO surveillance. - -[Illustration: _Figure 12b._ The Presque Isle sighting from two -stations; the corrected determination of North indicates Jupiter at -infinity.] - -The panel members quickly disposed of the case. The measurements -reported from Presque Isle obviously pointed directly to the planet -Jupiter, not a mere 100 but millions of miles beyond the earth. If a -constant correction was applied to the bearings from Limestone, they -also agreed with Jupiter’s position. Careless use of the theodolite had -produced an error in the data. To measure the angle of an object above -the horizon, the observer has only to make sure that the theodolite is -level, but to measure the bearing he must align it with true north, -a direction that cannot be determined by guesswork. The Limestone -observers had made a mistake in determining true north and had thus -obtained a wrong bearing for the unknown. When the corrected data were -plotted (shown schematically in Figure 12b) the prolonged lines were -parallel, and both pointed squarely to the planet Jupiter at infinity. - -The orange light was unquestionably Jupiter, and the accompanying green -lights were its four bright satellites twinkling through the layers of -the earth’s atmosphere. Amazed that this uncomplicated case, already -explained by Dr. Hynek, should have been offered as evidence for the -extraterrestrial origin of UFOs, the panel extended its investigation -to the original observers at Presque Isle. The witnesses there were -bewildered by the inquiry; they had checked the object when it appeared -again on the night of October 11, they said, and had then identified it -as the planet Jupiter, but they had not thought it necessary to notify -the Air Force![VII-4] - -For five long days the panel worked, analyzing every available bit -of evidence as it related to four alternative theories: 1) that UFOs -were a supersecret device of some sort being developed by the United -States; 2) that UFOs were a supersecret device being developed by some -foreign power; 3) that UFOs were normal phenomena wrongly interpreted; -and 4) that UFOs came from other planets. As the panel succeeded in -explaining one after another of the fifty or so submitted cases, or was -able to suggest a highly probable solution in terms of normal physical -phenomena, the members reached their conclusion. Theory number one they -rejected with complete certainty; they were 98 per cent certain that -theory number two was wrong, and 99 per cent sure that number four was -also incorrect (scientists are reluctant to accept any negative belief -with absolute certainty). The document submitted unofficially by ATIC -investigators they also rejected for lack of evidence. All the facts, -they decided, supported theory number three, that the reported UFOs -were merely natural phenomena, wrongly interpreted[VII-6]. - -The panel delivered this evaluation to the Office of Scientific -Intelligence, together with a recommendation that government agencies -should immediately abandon the policy of secrecy regarding UFO reports -and should make public all the facts in every case. Unfortunately this -recommendation was not followed. The report included some rather -caustic comments on the general inadequacy of the investigative -techniques that had been used. As one of the members remarked -unofficially, trying to get to the bottom of some of the sightings was -like cutting treacle. The panel report with its blunt criticisms was of -course not intended for public release and, understandably, was kept -classified. - -Although the OSI had asked for an expert opinion, some Air Force -and government officials were unwilling to accept the verdict when -they got it, and flatly refused to believe that UFOs were normal -phenomena[VII-7]. When echoes of their disagreement escaped the -security screen, civilian saucer enthusiasts concluded with some -justification that Air Force officials were “covering up.” They were. -They were not hiding any proof that flying saucers came from outer -space, however, as the saucer addicts charged, but were merely trying -to conceal their own confusion and the panel’s criticisms. - -As one member of the panel later stated to a correspondent, the -explanation of UFO beliefs “lies in a logical defect. It is this: UFOs -form a class of all celestial observations that cannot be immediately -explained. There is no other truly common feature; some manifestations -are optical, others are detected by radar; some are points, others -circular, others patterned; some are seen by night, others by day, -etc. The implication that they are somehow related is a false one, as -we know from the large proportion positively identified after the fact -(what relation is there between Venus and a meteorological balloon?). -Calling all unidentified objects in the sky ‘flying saucers’ or even -UFOs (Venus doesn’t ‘fly’ in any proper sense of the word) is like -calling any word I cannot understand ‘Greek.’ The class of all words I -cannot understand would scarcely form a single language. Therefore, the -explanation of UFOs as a class is simply that they are not a uniform -class but a hodge-podge of widely disparate, partly described phenomena -that were seen in the sky.”[VII-8] - -Not until April 9, 1958, did the Air Force make public the internal -recommendation made by the panel some five years earlier. If the entire -study had been released earlier, with a full statement of the facts and -the analyses made by the panel, it might have ended the saucer scare at -once. Instead the UFO hysteria continued, with periods of remission, -and is still dying a slow and lingering death. - -[VII-1] Ruppelt, E. J. _The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects._ -Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1956. - -[VII-2] Olivier, C. P. “Tables of Hourly Rates Based upon American -Meteor Society Data.” Interim Report No. 28, Harvard University Radio -Meteor Research Program (May 1958). - -[VII-3] _Sky and Telescope_, Vol. XI (1952), p. 312. - -[VII-4] Air Force Files. - -[VII-5] Barker, G. _They Knew Too Much about Flying Saucers._ New York: -University Books, Inc., 1956. - -[VII-6] Robertson, H. P. Personal files. - -[VII-7] Chop, A. M. Personal communication. - -[VII-8] Page, T. W. Personal files. - - - - -_Chapter_ VIII - -PHANTOMS ON RADAR - - -The evidence of radar, according to the saucer enthusiasts, provides -final proof that alien spaceships indeed patrol our skies. Because -radar is an electronic device, it allegedly cannot be fooled by -mirages, reflections, or peculiar weather conditions. If radar records -an echo from an unidentified object and, at about the same time, a -human witness reports a puzzling light in the sky, the believers -proclaim that the unprejudiced testimony of science has confirmed the -presence of a solid flying saucer. Sometimes a radarscope reports -unidentified objects at a time when observers on the ground and in -search planes cannot see anything unusual in the sky. The believers -then conclude not that radar evidence can be misinterpreted, but that -the operators of the flying saucers may somehow be able to make both -themselves and their ships invisible![VIII-1] - - -_Radar as a Reporter_ - -Any UFO investigator who presumes to evaluate electronic evidence -should have much more than an amateur’s knowledge of the nature and -behavior of radar. Correct interpretation of the signals requires -training, experience, skill, and an expert’s acquaintance with the -peculiarities of the set under varying conditions. But even the -expert does not yet understand the causes of all the phenomena that -can appear. He is limited by our still incomplete knowledge of -dynamic meteorology--precise information about the composition of -the atmosphere and how it interacts with microwaves. With proper -instrumentation and first-rate operators, radar can correctly report -the approximate direction, distance, altitude, and rate of motion of -objects within its range. If the returns are misinterpreted, however, -radar can seem to give false reports. - -[Illustration: _Figure 13._ Schematic view of radar targets on -successive sweeps of the antenna.] - -Radar is not a TV camera or a photographic lens. It does not, at least -at present, produce a picture of the physical appearance, shape, size, -or color of the thing it detects. The scope shows only tiny spots of -light on the flat surface of a screen. A pointer something like a clock -hand continually sweeps around the dial at a given speed. A complete -rotation may take from two to fifteen seconds, depending on the type -of the set. This sweep hand keeps pace with the rotation of the radar -antenna as it scans the sky by sending out radio pulses. When they -encounter a solid object, they bounce off and return to the set as -echoes which show as “blips,” or spots of light, on the radarscope. -The operator must interpret these spots and try to identify them as -planes, helicopters, balloons, ships, mountains, clouds, birds, storms, -hurricanes, or phantom echoes of various kinds. Safe commercial flying -depends on the accuracy of these identifications, as does the security -of the country in periods of international tension. - -Radar only reports. It does not interpret. If the sweep hand on -successive rotations shows a spot of light apparently moving from -position _A_ to position _B_, to _C_, to _D_, the operator generally -concludes that the blips represent a single object that is moving at -a certain speed in a certain direction (see Figure 13). If successive -sweeps show a spot of light that remains at position _A_, he usually -concludes that it represents a stationary object. If the blip moves a -very great distance in the interval between two sweeps or seems to jump -erratically from one position to another, an amateur might interpret -it as a spacecraft flying at incredible velocity--a flying saucer. But -an expert would probably conclude, especially under certain weather -conditions, that the scope was picking up echoes from two or more -separate objects, one reflecting briefly at position _A_, another at -position _B_, and so on. - - -_The Principle of Radar_ - -Radar is an electronic assembly far too complex for detailed -description here, but its basic principle is simple. It is merely an -echo machine that reflects radio waves instead of sound waves. To -illustrate by a rough analogy, let us imagine that a man is standing -in the middle of an open field on a very dark night. He wants to find -out something of the contours of the surrounding country but his only -tools are a compass, a watch with luminous dial and hands, and a large -megaphone. He raises the megaphone to his lips, points it directly -north, and gives a sharp and piercing call: “Hi!” He now cups his hand -to his ear and listens for an echo. Hearing no reply, he deduces that -in the north there are no hills, tall buildings, or other obstructions -that might have produced an echo. - -Changing his position, he turns to the east and tries the experiment -again. After an interval his call returns as a faint echo: “Hi!” The -time elapsed between call and echo, according to his watch, is ten -seconds. His call has taken five seconds to reach the object and five -seconds more to return. Since he knows that sound travels at the rate -of about 1000 feet a second, he deduces that an obstruction lies in -the east, about 5000 feet away. Slowly changing position, he repeats -his call at various points around the compass. Some echoes take longer -to return than others, indicating more distant objects. Other echoes -come back in a fraction of a second, showing an object very close. Thus -he gradually constructs a mental map of the surrounding terrain. - -Radar detects and locates objects in a similar way, by reflecting sharp -pulses of radio waves. But spurious echoes, which sometimes deceive the -operator, can also appear on the scope. These “anomalous” or abnormal -returns may have one of several causes, including the nature of the -radar mechanism itself. To help explain this, let us go back to our -analogy of the man in the open field. Let us suppose that the man has -mechanized his device. To ease the strain on his vocal cords, he has -built a megaphone with a record-playing device. The megaphone rotates -automatically and sends out a recorded “Hi!” once every twenty seconds, -as regular as clockwork. To increase the sensitivity of his hearing, he -wears ear trumpets that point in the same direction as the megaphone. -This procedure is more effective than cupping his ears and eliminates -some of the extraneous noise that might come in from the rear and the -sides. - -With this improved equipment the man now repeats his experiment. As -before, he gets no signal from the north. When he turns to the east -he gets an echo after ten seconds, just as he did during his first -experiment. As he continues to turn slowly, like a minute hand on a -clock dial, he mentally maps the positions of the echoes as distances -along the hand from the center of the dial, and compares this new map -with the crude one he constructed earlier. Basically the two agree. - -But wait! From the southwest he hears a new echo that did not occur -in his earlier experiment. It returns after two seconds and thus -apparently comes from an obstruction 1000 feet away. Puzzled, the man -decides to walk toward the object and check his observation. After he -has covered half the distance he stops, sends out a call, and listens -for the echo. The indicated distance to the echo-producing object is -now 500 feet, just as he calculated. And so he goes on, checking at -intervals. When he has covered 990 feet he knows that he should reach -the obstruction at any moment and to avoid colliding with it in the -darkness he proceeds with extreme caution--995, 996, 997, 998, 999 -feet. He puts out his hand, expecting to touch a building or a stone -wall, and warily takes the last step. But he finds no structure of -any kind, merely level ground. And at the same moment he finds to -his astonishment that he can no longer detect the echoes he had been -following. What has happened? Has his equipment been malfunctioning? -Or was the unknown structure perhaps a vehicle from outer space that -waited until he was practically touching it and then rose silently in -an enormous burst of speed and vanished? - -The man checks and finds that his equipment is functioning perfectly, -since he can still pick up echoes from the terrain he had mapped -earlier. He then walks back ten feet and listens once more for an -echo from the phantom structure. Again he gets a signal, apparently -from an obstruction just ten feet ahead. Has the mysterious object -suddenly returned? But how could it have done so without disturbing -the atmosphere or making a noise? By this time our man is frightened -as well as puzzled, but he boldly decides to make one more experiment. -He walks again to the point where the obstruction should be. Signaling -again to the southwest, he now gets a faint echo apparently from a -distance of 10,000 feet. Tired as he is, he starts walking toward this -new obstruction and eventually reaches his goal. He now finds the -true source of the returns--a high hill that rises abruptly from the -plain. The hill is 10,000 feet away from the position indicated by the -original series of echoes, and 11,000 feet away from the place he stood -when he first sent out the signals. - -Finally the man figures out the explanation. When he made his first -experiment, with primitive equipment, he had given one sharp shout -and then waited for a long time for the signal to return; thus there -was never any uncertainty about the source of the echo. The time that -elapsed between shout and return had clearly indicated the distance of -the echo-producing object. But the improved automatic equipment of the -second experiment produced a train of signals going out continuously -at regular intervals, twenty seconds apart. Therefore when the sound -waves encountered a definite object, a train of echoes began coming -back, twenty seconds apart. An object at a distance of 10,000 feet -would return an echo in twenty seconds; another object at a distance -of 11,000 feet would return an echo in twenty-two seconds. But an -echo from this second object would reach the listener at exactly -the same time as an echo from an object only 1000 feet away. He now -understands why he seemed to detect a structure at a distance of 1000 -feet which disappeared as he approached and then reappeared 10,000 feet -farther away. In fact, the object that returned the misinterpreted -echo could have been 20,000 or 30,000 or 40,000 feet farther away--any -multiple of 10,000 feet. Large numbers of signals were returning every -twenty seconds. The man had no way of deciding for certain whether -a particular echo came from the most recent signal and therefore -indicated a relatively close object, or whether it came from an earlier -signal and therefore from a more distant object. - -Broadening his experiment our man eventually learned other -characteristics of these echoes. He found that on the average day he -was rarely plagued by this uncertainty in identifying the returns. The -second-round echoes were very weak, almost undetectable, and therefore -caused no major problem. But on other days, under different weather -conditions, sound tended to travel long distances without losing much -in intensity. On such days the echoes were often confusing. - - -_Weather and Radar Echoes_ - -Radar is an echo machine that reflects radio waves instead of sound -waves. Instead of traveling at the speed of sound, about 1000 feet a -second, radio waves travel at the velocity of light, 186,000 miles a -second. Successive pulses go out at very short intervals, perhaps one -one-thousandth of a second apart, so that each pulse is followed by -another just 186 miles behind it. If the operator gets a return from an -object that is apparently at a distance of 25 miles, he must sometimes -allow for the possibility that he is getting a secondary echo and that -the actual distance may be different. The object that produces the echo -may be at a distance of 25 plus 186 miles, or 25 plus twice 186 miles, -or 25 plus any other whole-number multiple of 186 miles. - -Under ordinary circumstances, the reflections from very distant targets -rarely confuse the operator. The curvature of the earth tends to shield -the radiation, and the distance factor alone reduces the intensity to -a negligible value. But weather can cause peculiar returns. A layer -of warm air above cooler air at the earth’s surface has much the -same effect on radio waves that it has on light waves. A temperature -inversion can produce radar “mirages”--commonly called “phantoms,” -“ghosts,” or “angels.” Relatively small amounts of warm air, even mere -warm bubbles in a layer of colder air, will suffice. When the scope -records a series of blips, the operator ordinarily assumes that all are -returns from a single object. If inversions of temperature or humidity -exist in the atmosphere, however, the series of returns may represent -several different ground objects rather than a single object in the -sky. Since these inversion layers do not remain fixed but move, change, -and shimmer, on one sweep the radar may reflect one ground object and -on the next sweep some fifteen seconds later may reflect a totally -different ground object five or six miles away from the first. An -inexperienced operator might conclude, wrongly, that both echoes came -from a single object that had traveled five miles in a fraction of a -minute (see Figure 14). Similar mistakes in identity have caused many -reports of radar flying saucers. - -[Illustration: _Figure 14._ Deflection of radar beams by temperature -inversion. Top, radar picks up ground target. Bottom, on next sweep, -radar picks up different ground target, which seems to indicate a -fast-moving UFO.] - -Such a radar incident occurred at one of our defense installations -in Alaska early in the morning of January 22, 1952[VIII-2]. Shortly -after midnight a bright target appeared on the radarscope, moving down -from the northeast, fairly high, and apparently traveling at about -1500 miles an hour. Unidentified targets require particularly prompt -investigation in this sensitive area so close to Siberia. Within -minutes an F-94 jet was moving in from a fighter base 100 miles to -the south; two other jets were scrambled at intervals and vectored -in toward the unknown target by ground radar. When radar switched to -short range, however, it always lost both the target and the pursuit -plane, even though both were close to the radar site. The first jet -could find nothing in the air, and no echoes appeared on its radar. -The second jet saw nothing in the air, but its radar recorded a -brief, weak echo to the right at about 28,000 feet. The echo faded -immediately, returned briefly, and then disappeared as the jet closed -in. The third jet, after cruising the area for ten minutes without -detecting anything visually or on radar, suddenly got a strong radar -return from an apparently stationary target just as it passed over the -ground radar site. The pilot made three direct runs on the unknown. -Each time he broke off the intercept when he got within 200 yards of -the target position as shown on his radar, for fear of collision. At no -time did he see anything at the supposed location of the target. (This -experience is somewhat analogous to that of our man who used echoing -sound waves to locate a solid structure only to find, on reaching the -indicated spot, that the structure was not there.) - -Captain Roy James, chief of the radar section of ATIC, examined all the -data and the scanty weather reports then available for this Alaskan -area, and concluded that the targets were ghost returns probably -from the ground, caused by peculiar atmospheric conditions--the same -conditions that had interfered with normal operation of the ground -radar. Although ground structures are scarce in that part of Alaska, -they do exist, and so do mountains. The analysis was undoubtedly -correct, even though knowledge of the location and movement of the -temperature inversion was too imprecise for the analyst to plot and -locate the true target that produced the reflections[VIII-3, p. 167]. - -Some of the nation’s most brilliant physicists have carried out -fundamental research into the behavior of microwaves under varying -conditions. The technical nature of these investigations makes them -difficult to describe in ordinary language, but they provide vital -information for the expert. - -One such study has specifically attacked the problem of radar images -that perform rapid and erratic maneuvers at close range and seem to -overtake, fly parallel with, or almost collide with the pursuing -aircraft. Such returns may be caused by the “non-isotropic secondary -scattering of energy” (that is, the radio waves are not reflected in -a uniform manner) from an airplane to a ground object, or from ground -object to plane. Under appropriate weather conditions the plane itself -causes the puzzling echoes, so that the velocity and movement of the -radar “saucer” depend directly on those of the plane. When the aircraft -is the first of the two scatterers, the radar saucer always appears -at the same bearing as the plane, and is always farther away from the -detecting radar than is the plane. Thus the path of the phantom always -lies outside the path of the aircraft, and when the jet performs a -360-degree turn, the phantom also turns, on an outside path. However, -if the jet happens to fly directly over the ground object that is -reflecting the energy, then the observing radar will see the images of -the jet and the phantom flying on what seems to be a collision course. - -Conversely, when the ground object is the first of the two scatterers, -the saucer phantom always occurs at the same bearing as the ground -object, and the distance to the phantom is always greater than to the -ground object. If the aircraft crosses the radial line from radar to -ground object, at a range exceeding the range to the object, then the -echoes from plane and saucer almost merge at the point of crossing, in -a “near collision.” But if the plane flies “this side” of the object, -then the plane and saucer will never be closer together than the -distance between plane and ground object at the point of crossing. A -height-finding radar, trained on the pursuing plane, would show the -phantom saucer apparently diving toward or climbing away from the -plane, attacking and retreating at very high velocities[VIII-4]. - - -_The Kinross Case_ - -Some such mechanism probably explains the radar returns reported in the -Kinross case, which some saucer publications cite as a proved instance -in which a flying saucer attacked a plane. On the night of November -23, 1953, an Air Force jet was scrambled from Kinross Air Force Base, -Michigan, to intercept an unidentified plane observed on radar. The -jet successfully accomplished its mission and identified the unknown -as a Dakota, a Canadian C-47. On its return to the base, however, the -Air Force jet crashed into Lake Michigan and, as often happens when a -plane crashes into deep water and the exact place of the crash is not -known, no wreckage was ever found. As the ground radar at Kinross had -tracked the returning jet, the scope had picked up a phantom echo in -the neighborhood of the jet; the two blips had seemed to merge just as -both went off the scope. - -Since the crash was not reported as a UFO incident and did not involve -any question of unidentified flying objects, ATIC was not asked to -investigate the problem. The office of the Deputy Inspector General for -Safety carried out a thorough inquiry and concluded that the crash had -been an aircraft accident, probably caused by the pilot’s suffering -an attack of vertigo. As for the two blips shown by radar, the night -had been a stormy one and atmospheric conditions had been conducive -to abnormal returns. The phantom echo had almost certainly been a -secondary reflection produced by the jet itself, and it thus merged -with the return from the jet and vanished with it when the plane hit -the water. - -Solely on the basis of this radar phantom, some civilian saucer groups -have tried to transform the Kinross crash into a UFO mystery with Air -Force investigators as the villains, and have suggested that the ghost -blip represented an alien spacecraft that happened to be cruising over -Lake Michigan that night and attacked the jet for one of two reasons: -1) The saucer might have tried to avoid close contact with the jet by -employing a “reversed G-field beam” (see _Chapter_ IX); colliding with -this beam as with a stone wall, the jet crashed. 2) The saucer might -have used the G-field to scoop the plane out of the air and take it -aboard the spacecraft; the captured pilot might have been needed to -teach the English language to his alien captors. - - -_The “Invasion” of Washington, D.C._ - -The most famous of the radar phantoms are those that “invaded” -Washington, D.C., on the nights of July 19 and July 26, 1952, and -terrified a large number of radar operators, pilots, and Air Force -officials who in a more normal emotional climate would have recognized -the “invisible” flying saucers for what they were--radar angels -produced by weather conditions[VIII-2]. All during July the eastern -seaboard had suffered an unprecedented drought and heat wave. Lack of -cloud cover produced intensely hot days and rapid radiative cooling -of the earth’s surface at night. This situation, combined with the -prevailing light winds, was ideal for the formation of low-level -temperature inversions during the hours of darkness[VIII-5]. - -The hundreds of flying saucers reported during the summer (_Chapter_ -VII) had produced a state of near-panic which entered its acute phase -on July 19, at 11:40 P.M. E.D.S.T., when a group of seven unidentified -targets appeared on the radarscope of the Air Route Traffic Control -(ARTC) at the Washington National Airport[VIII-3, p. 209 ff.]. Similar -targets that moved erratically, appearing and disappearing, were -observed on the radars of the control tower and of nearby Andrews Air -Force Base. If the blips were to be accepted at face value, then a -host of aerial objects had invaded Washington and were cruising over -the White House and the Capitol. Traffic control notified the pilots -of commercial flights in the area to keep alert for unidentified -aircraft. Some pilots reported unusual echoes on their plane radars, -some reported only normal returns, and two pilots reported unexplained -lights in the neighborhood indicated by radar. Nobody saw any strange -aircraft. After several requests from ARTC (which unaccountably did not -notify officials in the Air Force Intelligence that an “invasion” was -taking place), a jet interceptor finally arrived about dawn to search -the area but found nothing. Meanwhile the targets had vanished from the -radarscopes. - -Next day the report flashed all over the world that a fleet of flying -saucers had invaded Washington, and public tension became almost -tangible. Was the earth doomed? The terror reached its climax on July -26, just a week after the first incident, when at 10:30 P.M., E.D.S.T., -the same radar operators who had observed the first “invasion” picked -up another group of mysterious blips on their screens. The host of -unknowns had apparently formed a ring around the city of Washington and -the surrounding countryside. This time Air Force Intelligence officers -were notified. They raced to the airport to see the radarscopes for -themselves, and concluded that real saucers must be in the sky. All -commercial air traffic was then diverted from Washington, reporters -and photographers were barred from the radar room, and Air Force jets -took to the air to defend the nation. But against what? The enemy, if -there, was invisible. One pilot saw a bright light that vanished when -he began to chase it; later, his radar showed a return that faded after -a few seconds, but he could not find a visual target. In the hours -between midnight and dawn, jet interceptors scoured the skies looking -for mysterious objects that produced returns on ground radar but not on -plane radar, and were invisible to the human eye. They found nothing. - -One pilot who flew this mission, accompanied by a copilot who was also -a radar officer, later described his experience: - -“For a period of 1½ hours the B-25 was vectored at altitudes varying -from 1,000 to 4,000 feet MSL to the objects observed on the [ground -radar] screen. The airplane flew circles around stationary blips, flew -through and along with their formations, paralleled their flight, and -was observed in the radar screen to pass directly over, under, or -through an angel. At all times the echo return of the aircraft caused a -brighter return on the screen than the angel. The radar height finder -was not operating during this mission, so exact altitudes of the blips -could not be determined. - -“No unidentified objects were observed by me or the crew during the -flight. At 2300 E.D.S.T. all angels disappeared from the radar screen -and screen detection returned to normal.”[VIII-6] - -By dawn this fantastic war of the angels had ended and the post-mortems -had begun. One radar expert who kept his head in spite of the hysteria -was Captain Roy James of ATIC, who immediately recognized the targets -as caused by weather. A civilian expert on radio propagation, when -consulted, correctly identified the phantoms and explained how they -were produced[VIII-7, VIII-7a]. General Samford, then in charge -of the UFO investigation, concurred. But most newspapers and many -government officials, influenced by the general excitement, ignored the -conclusions of the experts. Saucer enthusiasts regarded the phenomena -as a real invasion from space, and alleged that the Air Force was -covering up the truth. - -Weeks passed before the facts of the incidents could be separated from -the fancies. Three ground radars had observed unusual targets on the -nights of the “invasion.” Only once, however, did all three observe -what was apparently the same target, and that for a few seconds only. -The unusual radar echoes had no visual counterpart--nobody had seen -or heard a spaceship. A few pilots had reported unidentified lights, -but the Washington area at night displays thousands of lights, and -even an unexplained light is far from being a spaceship. One pilot who -took part in this phantom war reported that, again and again, ground -radar had vectored him in toward a target that proved to be a steamboat -making a moonlight trip on the Potomac! - - -_Radar Experiments in Washington_ - -Immediately after the Washington crisis, the Technical Development and -Evaluation Center of the Civil Aeronautics Authority was assigned the -problem of finding out exactly what had produced the radar returns. -Investigation showed that the phantoms were not a new or unusual -phenomenon. They had appeared on the Washington radars on many nights -before the first “invasion,” appeared twice during the week between -the two, and many times after the second. Abnormal returns are -commonplace during the hot summer months when temperature inversions -and inequalities in the moisture of the air are most frequent. On the -nights of July 19 and 26 the Weather Bureau at Washington recorded -small temperature inversions and an abnormal distribution of moisture -in the atmosphere, conditions that regularly produce radar angels. - -The experts also carried out a series of experiments in the Washington -area on several nights in August when conditions of temperature and -humidity closely resembled those on the “invasion” nights. During -these experiments unidentified targets appeared in profusion on the -radar screens. The first observation period began on the evening of -August 13, 1952. At about 9 P.M. E.D.S.T., suddenly “a group of seven -strong stationary targets became visible in an area about fifteen miles -north-northeast of the radar antenna. During the next two or three -antenna revolutions, the area on the scope between Washington and -Baltimore became heavily sprinkled with stationary targets in a belt -about six miles wide. A group of additional targets became visible in -an area approximately ten to fifteen miles south of the radar antenna. -This was evidence of the beginning of a temperature inversion.”[VIII-6] -Two temperature inversions were involved, one just above the earth’s -surface, and one at about 8000 feet. The investigators concluded that -the unidentified targets observed on Washington MEW (Microwave Early -Warning) and other radar in the summer of 1952 were to be attributed -to secondary reflections of the radar beam, caused primarily by -temperature inversions[VIII-5]. - -Saucer enthusiasts protested (and still insist) that the inversions -were not large enough to produce radar anomalies, revealing how -superficial was their acquaintance with radar. Although pronounced -temperature inversions are responsible for the superior and inferior -mirages resulting from the bending of light rays, large inversions -are not required to produce the mirages resulting from the refractive -bending of radio waves. At radar frequencies, refraction is influenced -by both temperature differences and the distribution of water vapor -in the atmosphere. A pronounced drop in moisture content at higher -altitudes can easily cause radar rays to bend earthward and pick -up ground targets, even though temperature conditions in the lower -atmosphere are entirely normal. - -In December 1952, _True_ magazine published a sensational article that -attacked the Air Force findings, insisted that the radar echoes had -been caused by strange machines and, in effect, accused the official -investigators of releasing an explanation they knew to be at variance -with the facts shown by radar[VIII-8]. - -Dr. Vernon G. Plank, now at the Aerophysics Laboratory of the Air Force -Cambridge Research Center, was at that time Radar Meteorologist at -Walpole, Massachusetts. A specialist in the science of radar, Dr. Plank -had made a detailed study of the refractive conditions prevailing -over Washington for July 20 and 21, 1952. In a letter (which was never -published) to the editor of _True_, he pointed out that the saucer -theory of the Washington radar returns had no basis in fact. The -material given in the letter merits quotation: - -“The regular Washington radiosonde observations, when converted into -refractive index terms, reveal that a very marked superrefractive -condition (a condition favorable to earthward bending of radar rays) -prevailed in the lower atmosphere during this period. The cause of this -superrefractive condition was primarily the rapid decrease of water -vapor with altitude. - -“Although this superrefractive layer was not quite intense enough to -cause the radar rays to be bent completely back to earth, the rays -would be very markedly bent downward from their normal position. -From past experience with other situations of this type it is to be -expected that certain regions in this layer might be considerably more -superrefractive than others, or that particular terrain features, such -as rivers or small bodies of water, might create local, transitory -conditions favorable to extreme superrefraction or even reflection. -Another factor to consider is that whereas such local anomalies are -usually due to moisture, localized temperature effects may also create -or help create such intense superrefractive regions. Therefore, -it would not be at all surprising that such local anomalies, when -superimposed on the generally superrefractive layer already existing -over Washington, could create a situation conducive to radar echoes of -the type observed. - -“Under such conditions the general ground clutter referred to in the -Keyhoe article would not be present and the radarscope would only -show echoes whenever and ‘wherever’ (qualified below) a favorable -superrefractive region occurred. As the radar ray has to travel from -the radar set to the particular region of refraction and thence onward -to the ground, the scope echoes created by such disturbances would -occur at an indicated range of roughly twice the disturbance range. - -“Even slow air movements within a localized disturbance (one -sufficiently intense to bend the ray into the ground) would be -translated into enormous movements of the echo over the scope face. -Both lateral and radial movements could be expected and disappearance -of echo between sweeps would not be surprising. - -“Of course, the optical effects noted in conjunction with the radar -echoes would depend upon temperature effects. However, the lack of a -temperature inversion in the type of data referred to by Mr. Keyhoe -does not preclude the possibility that extremely sharp and localized -inversions existed over the area, perhaps in close association or in -conjunction with the regions causing the radar echo. The Weather Bureau -data cited are not sufficiently accurate nor do the instruments used -in obtaining the data have a sufficiently rapid response to measure -such small inversions. Also, such data are usually obtained at only two -definite periods during each day. - -“As the distance between Andrews AFB and the Washington National -Airport is only some few miles, the refractive effects of a given -disturbance might appear to be quite similar, and the position of the -resulting ground echo on the two sets might coincide to a fair degree -of approximation. However, as information about the degree of accuracy -maintained in plotting echo position is not available to me, I cannot -comment with any degree of intelligence. It does seem though, that -with the observed echo speeds and radical direction changes, as well -as the echo appearance and disappearance phenomena, that accurate -scope coordination between the separate fields would be extremely -difficult.”[VIII-9] - - -_“Simultaneous” Radar-Visual Reports_ - -On the night of July 29, three days after the second Washington crisis, -the radar installation of the Air Defense Command post near Port -Huron, Michigan, had been tracking three F-94s as they made practice -runs on a B-25 bomber. At 9:40 P.M. C.S.T., ground control picked -up an unidentified target moving from north to south at a speed of -about 625 miles an hour. The operators notified the pilot of one of -the F-94s and vectored him in for an attempted intercept. The plane’s -radar did not show the reported target, but when the plane had climbed -to a height of 21,000 feet, both the pilot and his radar man saw a -brilliant multicolored light, many times larger than a star, close to -the northern horizon. At the same time the plane’s radar picked up an -echo in the north; it disappeared after thirty seconds, although the -light was still visible dead ahead. As the pilot began the chase, the -light changed color from bluish white to reddish and slowly diminished -in size as though it were moving away. The pilot pursued the light for -about half an hour without gaining on it, and eventually had to return -to base. The ground radar, meanwhile, had been trying to keep track -of events in the sky. When the chase began, the target appearing on -ground radar had first made a 180-degree turn and reversed direction -from south to north; it had then moved erratically, doubling its speed -instantaneously, and then slowing down. It once seemed to reach a -speed of about 1400 miles an hour, then slowed to about 300 mph, and -disappeared from the scope shortly after the plane had returned to -base[VIII-2]. - -To many persons this incident seemed a simultaneous visual and radar -sighting of a single unknown object but the Air Force soon demolished -this theory. A study of the facts revealed that the movement of the -radar target and that of the mysterious light had not coincided. The -radar target had traveled from north to south, had then reversed -direction, had slowed down, speeded up, and moved erratically. The -light, however, had remained steadily in the north, diminishing in size -and brilliance but not vanishing. It behaved, in fact, like the image -of a star or a planet seen through turbulent atmosphere (see _Chapter_ -IV). - -For several nights before the sighting, many residents in this part -of Michigan had noticed a similar light that appeared in the northern -sky each evening at about the same time and place, displaying various -changing colors. The investigators were able to identify the shining -unknown as the star Capella. The position of the lights coincided with -that of the star for that time, date, and latitude. Capella was at -lower culmination--that is, at the lowest point of its swing around -the pole star, just skirting the horizon where its spectacular blue, -yellow, and red twinkling is familiar to astronomers of the region. -The pilot’s description, and the fact that he could get no closer to -it even after a thirty-minute chase, confirmed this identification. -Neither the brief blip that appeared on the plane’s radar nor the -erratic returns picked up by ground radar had any relation to the star; -they were merely phantom returns caused by weather conditions[VIII-2]. - -Like this Michigan sighting, many UFO problems are difficult to solve -because they result from more than one cause. The observations seem at -first glance to refer to a single phenomenon, although actually two -or more unrelated phenomena are involved. On August 1, 1952, two days -after the Michigan incident, such a puzzle arose with an impressive -radar-visual-photographic sighting near Bellefontaine, Ohio[VIII-2]. -At 10:45 A.M. C.D.S.T., the radar operator at the Air Defense Command -post picked up an unidentified target north of Dayton, moving southwest -at a speed of about 525 miles an hour. Two jets from Wright-Patterson -Air Force Base were scrambled for an intercept and were vectored -in by ground control. Since the ground radar was not equipped with -height-finding devices, however, the operator could not direct the -pilots to a specific altitude; he could only tell them whether they -were nearer to or farther from the target. - -When the jets had reached 30,000 feet, ground radar informed them -that they were almost on target, which was still moving southwest -at the same speed. A few seconds later, the returns from the jets -and the UFO blended on the radarscope and the operator advised the -pilots that they would have to continue the search visually. At this -moment, unfortunately, the ground radar suddenly failed. Soon after -communication between ground and air had ended, the lead pilot observed -a silver-colored sphere several thousand feet above him. Both jets went -after it but although they climbed to their maximum altitude, 40,000 -feet, neither could get close enough to identify the object, which -was still some 30,000 feet above them. One pilot, however, managed to -expose several feet of film with his gun camera. At the same moment the -warning light on his gunsight radar blinked on to indicate it detected -a solid object. At this point the jets broke off the intercept and -started back to Wright-Patterson Field. - -Both pilots then realized that, although they had been chasing an -unknown for some ten minutes, they were still northwest of the base -in almost the same area where they had started the intercept. This -surprising fact seemed to indicate that the unknown had slowed down -from its original speed of 525 miles an hour, to hover in the sky -nearly motionless. - -In flying saucer circles, this series of events was regarded as an -iron-clad case of a physically material UFO observed simultaneously by -radar, the human eye, and the camera. - -After sifting the evidence, ATIC investigators eventually found the -more prosaic though complicated solution to the puzzle: - -1) The object picked up on ground radar had actually been a jet plane, -flying out of Cleveland. It had not been identified immediately because -the Bellefontaine station had not received its flight plan. At 10:45 -that morning the jet had been north of Dayton, flying at low altitude -on a southwest heading, at a speed of around 525 miles an hour--the -exact time, position, and speed of the radar unknown. - -2) The pilots of the interceptors never saw this jet. What they saw, -what their gun radar detected, and what their gun camera photographed -was a twenty-foot radiosonde balloon that had been released from -Wright-Patterson Air Force Base that morning shortly before the -sighting. Ground radar, on the other hand, never picked up the balloon. - -3) The chief reason for the confusion was that ground radar did not -have a height-finding device. When the operator notified the pilots -that his scope showed a blending of the returns produced by the pursuit -jets and by the unknown, neither he nor the pilots had any way to tell -whether the unknown was directly above or directly below the pursuing -jets. At 30,000 feet the pilots were too high to see the Cleveland jet -far below them. But they did see the balloon above them and naturally -assumed that it was the object they were supposed to be chasing. - -4) Since the ground radar stopped functioning at this point, the -operator could no longer track the course of the unknown or of the -interceptors. If the radar had been working, he would have seen that -the target continued on to the southwest while the interceptors were -searching in a different area to the north. - -5) The photographs confirmed this reconstruction of a complicated -series of events. The pictures obtained by the gun camera displayed a -round, indistinct blur. Analysis showed that the size of the object was -that of a twenty-foot sphere--a balloon--photographed from a distance -of 30,000 feet. - - -_“Ghosts” and “Angels” on Radar_ - -Every experienced radar man has observed blips on his scope that he -cannot account for[VIII-4], but he recognizes many characteristics of -these “ghosts” or “angels.” They often come from an apparently clear -and normal sky. They are usually concentrated in the lower atmosphere, -are weak in character, and last only a short time. Although they may -occur at any time of the year, they appear most often on summer nights -in calm weather[VIII-10]. Summer atmospheric conditions, in which the -air is relatively quiet but varies in temperature and moisture content, -have an adverse effect on radio and radar transmission and produce many -of these ghost returns. - -The uneven distribution of temperature and humidity in the atmosphere -is only one of the many possible causes of the radar angels often -labeled as saucers[VIII-11, VIII-12]. These ghosts may be produced by -peculiar atmospheric conditions, back and forward scatter of radio -waves[VIII-13], smoke, wind-carried debris, moisture-laden clouds, ice -crystals in clouds or air, lightning, meteors, the Aurora Borealis, -birds, insects, bats, electronic reflections from the moon, flares on -the sun, or by “chaff” or “window” (foil dropped from airplanes). A -radar operator once picked up a group of phantom echoes that seemed -to form the letters “GI” which, according to the scope, apparently -stretched over a distance of about eighty miles. He tracked them for -two hours, but gave up trying to interpret the message when he learned -that it was produced by chaff dropped from an Air Force plane during an -experiment. - -An extremely unusual pattern of “angels” (see Plate IVc) appeared -on the radarscope at Schilling Air Force Base at Salina, Kansas, -on September 10, 1956, and was attributed to forward scatter from -atmospheric eddies to ground targets and back[VIII-13]. - -Many radar angels are caused by insects and birds. Their detection on -sensitive, high-resolution, Q-, K-, and X-band radars has been verified -both observationally and theoretically. Since a radar set surveys -a very large volume of the atmosphere and maps it on a relatively -small dial, a surprisingly small concentration of insects can cause -appreciable clutter on the scope. On sets such as the 0.86-cm TPQ-6 -(Cloud Base and Top Indicator), a single insect of detectable size -in a volume of 100,000 cubic feet of air is enough to fill the scope -with return[VIII-4]. Since the guilty insect would be invisible both -to ground observers and to the crew of pursuing jets, a flying-saucer -report inspired by the radar echoes would remain forever an “Unknown.” - -Birds can cause substantial echoes on many radars. Large birds at a -distance of ten miles can give signals equivalent to those from a -medium-sized aircraft at a distance of fifty miles; in fact, even the -fading and fluctuation resemble those of aircraft echoes. On radar, -a sea gull may cause a return equivalent to that of a quart of water -flying around. The radar cross section of the blip may be several -times larger than the geometric cross section of the bird, so that a -single adult sea gull at a distance of twenty nautical miles gives -a very large radar return. As few as eight birds per square mile -can completely fill a PPI (Planned Position Indicator) scope with -return[VIII-14]. If conditions were exactly right, the birds might -be visible to an observer and the source of the angel would thus be -explained. But if no one happened to see the birds, the “mysterious” -returns could serve as a basis for still another report of invisible -flying saucers. - -Birds have also been responsible for some of the “ring” angels that -have been interpreted as fleets of invisible spaceships. In September -1953 several radar sites in England picked up unidentified objects -apparently encircling the city of London. They performed peculiar -maneuvers including, according to one saucer publication, the formation -of the letters Z and U of the English alphabet. How the correct -orientation of this invisible sky writing was determined has never been -explained. If the letters are turned top to bottom, back to front, or -rotated 90 or 180 degrees, they take on new meanings. Scholars might -well argue about whether the first giant symbol should be interpreted -as a Roman Z, a Roman N, a Greek Ζ, or a Russian И; and whether the -second symbol should be read as a Roman U, a Greek Ω, the mathematical -symbol ⊂ standing for “is contained in,” or a Roman C lying on its side. - -On the scope, ring angels produce outwardly expanding rings and arcs -that sometimes move on and off the screen at incredible speeds. Such -echoes have been a fairly common phenomenon in England since 1940 and -1941[VIII-15], and experimental research has shown that many of those -occurring at dawn or at dusk are caused by flocks of starlings. At dawn -thousands of starlings leave the roost in waves at intervals of about -half a minute. The birds in each wave are often closely packed in a -tight circle or semicircle as the wave ascends. All are flying outward, -dispersing in all directions, so that the ring diffuses rapidly on the -radar screen and disappears, but is followed almost at once by a new -ring. At dusk the birds may return separately to the roost during the -course of an hour. Sometimes, however, they assemble first in a field -some distance from the roost; they finally take off at the same time -as a group and head for the roost in a single giant wave, causing a -tremendously impressive but quickly vanishing angel on the radarscope. - -Ring echoes observed at Texarkana, Arkansas, have been traced to the -movements of red-winged blackbirds. Thousands of birds flying out from -a common roosting ground a few minutes before sunrise show up on the -PPI scope as an expanding ring that grows broader and more diffuse with -time until the composite echo breaks into individual ones and fades at -a distance of twelve to thirty-five miles[VIII-16]. - -Other types of ring angels have been observed on radarscopes, but the -causes are not yet fully understood[VIII-17, VIII-18]. - -Recognizing the true character of these radar angels and spurious -reflections has tremendous importance for the security of the United -States. Our Early Warning System, designed to notify Air Defense of -imminent attacks by intercontinental ballistic missiles, has already -had troubles with such radar ghosts. On October 5, 1960, a signal from -Thule, Greenland, to the North American Air Defense Command flashed -the warning, “Massive ICBM attack is underway.” The Canadian officer -in charge had only seventeen minutes in which to decide whether to -order several hundred bombers of the Strategic Air Command to retaliate -against the USSR or to push the button that would cause our long-range -missiles with atomic warheads to come roaring out of their underground -sites. He immediately asked Washington: Where was Khrushchev? -Khrushchev was in New York at the United Nations: the officer did not -push the button that would have set the world at war. - -Later, he learned that radar beams reflected from the moon had produced -the terrifying angels. This incident is only one of the reasons why the -Air Force continues to be interested in radar UFOs. Failure to identify -them correctly could threaten the effectiveness of our patrol system. - - -_The Rapid City Sighting_ - -One of the most complex incidents in saucer history occurred early -in August 1953 near Rapid City, South Dakota. Like the sightings the -previous year at Bellefontaine, Ohio, and Port Huron, Michigan, the -presence of a UFO seemed to be confirmed by several types of evidence. -Trained civilian and military personnel on the ground and in the air -observed an unknown visually and by radar. The blips on the ground -radarscope were photographed and a plane’s gun camera took a picture. -If a similar incident were to occur today, Air Force investigators -would probably find the answer without difficulty. In 1953, however, -they were less experienced and finally classified the case as “one of -the best” Unknowns. - -It is clearly impossible to solve the mystery with absolute certainty -after nearly ten years, because vital information is lacking. The -original records are no longer on file. Few details are available -except those in Ruppelt’s sketchy summary[VIII-3, p. 303 ff.], and -some of these are inaccurate: the town of Black Hawk, for example, is -not west, but northwest, of Rapid City. Although many questions of fact -must therefore remain unanswered--exact times, directions, sequence of -events--we offer here a highly probable explanation. - -The first report came at 8:05 P.M. M.S.T. when a spotter for the Ground -Observer Corps in the town of Black Hawk telephoned the Air Defense -Command post near Rapid City, approximately ten miles southeast of -Black Hawk, to report an extremely bright light hovering low on the -horizon to the northeast. The radar operators at Ellsworth Air Force -Base had been working with a jet patrol flying west of the base. After -receiving the phone call, they shifted the scope to scan the northeast -quadrant of the sky and picked up an unidentified target moving slowly -at about 16,000 feet. Although the controller wondered at first whether -the target might have been due to weather, he decided after a few -minutes that it was well defined, solid, and bright. - -Since the ground spotter had a visual target and the traffic controller -had a radar target, he telephoned to compare notes on positions; as -they were talking, the spotter interrupted the conversation to say that -the light was beginning to move southwest toward Rapid City. Checking -the radarscope and finding a fast-moving target the controller sent two -of his men running outside to look at the sky. After a few seconds they -reported that they could see a large bluish-white light moving toward -them from the northeast. It made “a wide sweep” around Rapid City and -then returned to a stationary position in the northeast where it had -first appeared. (Unfortunately the account does not state clearly -whether the “wide sweep” was observed visually or on radar.) - -By this time all the witnesses were greatly excited by the UFO. The -master sergeant couldn’t decide what to do next because he kept -thinking, “They’re bigger than all of us!” but the traffic controller -notified the F-84 patrolling in the west and asked for an intercept. -The pilot soon found the light, which was still stationary. He began -the chase, but when he had approached to within an estimated three -miles, the light rapidly began to retreat. He continued the chase -directly north for 120 miles (during which both the jet and the UFO -went off the ground scope) but he could not gain on the object. Running -short of fuel, he turned back toward the base. The ground scope soon -picked him up again and, a few seconds later, picked up an unknown -target apparently trailing the jet by ten or fifteen miles. - -A second jet then took to the air, located the light, and began the -pursuit. Like the first pilot, he could not close the distance between -him and the receding UFO. After performing various tests to convince -himself that he wasn’t chasing a reflection, he finally turned on -his radar gun camera. After a few seconds the red light blinked on, -indicating a solid object ahead. The pilot thereupon asked permission -to break off the intercept and, having taken a photograph, returned -to base. As before, the ground scope picked up the returning jet but -this time the UFO did not reappear on the scope. The controller then -called officials at the filter center at Fargo, North Dakota. They -had not received any UFO reports; a few minutes later, however, they -called back to say that spotter posts between the two cities, on a -southwest-northeast line, had indeed seen a bluish-white light. - -Investigators from ATIC arrived promptly but they were not able to -explain the sighting. Even the photographs showed nothing useful. -Conclusion: unknown. - -The incident remained unexplained chiefly because the investigators, -like the witnesses, apparently assumed that a single unidentified -flying object accounted for all the phenomena observed that evening. -Although the available evidence is somewhat confusing, a careful study -shows that, on the contrary, the visual and the radar targets could not -have been the same. - -When the ground spotter first reported the UFO, she described it as a -stationary light low on the horizon. The radarscope, however, showed -a target that was moving slowly, at an altitude of about 16,000 feet. -Some minutes later, when the visual target did begin to move, the radar -target speeded up. This was the only instance in which the movements -of the two seemed to be roughly parallel. But in the excitement -that followed, all the witnesses assumed that the two targets were -identical. The published account[VIII-3, p. 303 ff.] does not -distinguish clearly between the actions of the light and the movements -of the blips on the radarscope. - -Let us begin by reviewing the facts about the visual target. According -to the witnesses on the ground, it was a brilliant bluish-white light -that appeared on the northeast horizon and remained stationary during -most of the period it was observed. At one time it seemed to advance -rapidly toward the witnesses, make a wide sweep around Rapid City, -which was a few miles away from the observers, and then return to -its original position. According to the witnesses in the air, the -light did not remain stationary but retreated from the pursuing plane -and followed the returning plane, duplicating the plane’s speed and -keeping the distance between them constant. The pilots based this -interpretation, evidently, on the fact that the light did not vary in -size or brilliance and thus seemed to pace the plane. - -These descriptions all point to the same answer: that the light was a -star or a planet. Since it was infinitely distant, the jets could not -get any closer to it and at ground levels the image was distorted by -peculiar atmospheric conditions. Mars had been absent from the night -sky for months, and Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter were then morning -stars; therefore the unknown could not have been a planet. However, -the bright star Capella was on the northeast horizon at a declination -of plus 46 degrees and would have been visible from both Fargo and -Rapid City. A check of the Weather Bureau records shows that the night -was clear and dark. The sun had set about an hour before the sighting -began, and at that time in the evening there was no moonlight because -the moon was in its last quarter. Visibility was about thirty-five -miles and the wind was from the northeast, about four meters per -second. There was a marked temperature inversion--9 degrees--at ground -levels. Such an inversion could easily account for the erratic motions -reported for the light. - -There can be little doubt that the visual target was the star Capella. - -The radar targets also were clearly the result of weather, just as the -air-traffic controller had suspected when he first looked at the scope. -Conditions were ideal--a calm, clear, warm summer night--for phantom -echoes. The first radar target, moving southwest, was probably a return -from some ground object. When the jet took to the air, the scope showed -a different kind of UFO target, one that echoed the movements of the -plane itself--retreating from the pursuer, advancing when the pursuer -turned back--and was always farther away from the ground station than -the plane itself. - -Although saucer enthusiasts interpret these maneuvers as proof that -the phantom was under intelligent control, radar experts recognize the -familiar pattern in which a ghost echo is actually a return from the -plane itself. Because of the temperature inversions the radar pulses -do not return directly from the plane to the ground receiver but are -deflected from the plane to the ground, then back to the plane, and -thence on to the ground scope. The phantom echo always occurs from the -same direction as the aircraft and is always “on the other side” of the -plane (see p. 153). - -This explanation also accounts for the evidence of the jet’s gun -camera. The photographs taken showed nothing, although the radar -warning light indicated a solid object ahead. After the pilot had -switched on the set, however, there had been a brief delay before the -red signal blinked on. During this interval the plane had not come any -closer to the unknown light, but the radio waves had scattered from -plane to ground and back to plane so that the gun radar did indeed -detect a solid object--the plane itself! - -In short, the evidence supports our conclusion that an image of the -star Capella, distorted by the atmospheric conditions produced by a -strong temperature inversion, accounted for the visual sightings; -and that radar echoes from the pursuing jets, deflected by the same -temperature inversion, accounted for the phantom targets on the ground -radarscope and the gun radar. - -[VIII-1] Keyhoe, D. E. _The Flying Saucer Conspiracy_. New York: Henry -Holt & Co., 1955. - -[VIII-2] Air Force Files. - -[VIII-3] Ruppelt, E. J. _The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects._ -Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1956. - -[VIII-4] Plank, V. G. “Spurious Echoes on Radar, A Survey.” Astia -Document No. AD-215470, AFCRC-TR-59-210 (May 1959). - -[VIII-5] Borden, R. C., and Vickers, T. K. “A Preliminary Study of -Unidentified Targets Observed on Air Traffic Control Radars.” Technical -Development Report No. 180, Civil Aeronautics Administration, Technical -Development and Evaluation Center, Indianapolis, Indiana (May 1953). - -[VIII-6] “Radar Objects Over Washington,” _Air Weather Service -Bulletin_ (September 1954), pp. 52–57. - -[VIII-7] Menzel, D. H. _Elementary Manual of Radio Propagation_. -Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1948. - -[VIII-7a] ---- “Why Flying Saucers Show Up on Radar.” _Look_ magazine -(September 9, 1952). - -[VIII-8] Keyhoe, D. E. “What Radar Tells about Flying Saucers.” _True_ -magazine (December 1952), p. 25 ff. - -[VIII-9] Plank, V. G. Personal communication. - -[VIII-10] Withrow, S. R. “Angels on Radar Scopes,” _Air Weather Service -Bulletin_ (September 1954), pp. 48–51. - -[VIII-11] Atlas, D. “Radar Studies of Meteorological ‘Angel’ Echoes,” -_Journal of Atmospheric and Terrestrial Physics_, Vol. XV (1959), pp. -262–87. - -[VIII-12] ---- “Possible Key to the Dilemma of Meteorological ‘Angel’ -Echoes,” _Journal of Meteorology_, Vol. XVII (1960), pp. 95–103. - -[VIII-13] ---- “Sub-horizon Radar Echoes by Scatter Propagation,” -_Journal of Geophysical Research_, Vol. LXIV (1959), pp. 1205–18. - -[VIII-14] Richardson, R. E.; Stacey, J. M.; Kohler, H. M.; and Naka, F. -R., “Radar Observations of Birds,” _Proceedings of the Seventh Weather -Radar Conference_ (November 1958). - -[VIII-15] Harper, W. G. “Angels on Centimetric Radars Caused by Birds,” -_Nature_, Vol. CLXXX (1957), p. 847. - -[VIII-16] Ligda, M. G. H. “Radar Observations of Blackbird Flights,” -_Texas Journal of Science_ (December 1958). - -[VIII-17] Holzer, R., and Smith, W. (Eds.), Proceedings on the -Conference on Atmospheric Electricity, Geophysics Research Directorate, -Air Force Cambridge Research Center, AFCRC-TR-55-222 (December 1955). - -[VIII-18] Eastwood, E; Bell, J. D.; and Phelp, N. R. “‘Ring Angels’ -over Southeast England,” _Nature_, Vol. CLXXXIII (1959), pp. 1759–60. - - - - -_Chapter_ IX - -E-M AND G-FIELDS IN UFO-LAND - - -The phenomenon of magnetism has always fascinated both scientists -and laymen. Paracelsus believed that he could use a magnet to draw -disease out from a person, transfer it to the ground, and thus cure -the patient. Later practitioners believed that a sick person could -regain his health by sleeping with head and feet oriented north to -south so as to be in line with the earth’s magnetic poles. Laputa, -the saucer-shaped floating island visited by Gulliver in his travels, -was propelled by the attracting or repelling forces of a large magnet -imbedded in the center of the island. In recent years magnetism has -similarly been called on to account for some of the peculiar maneuvers -allegedly performed by UFOs. - -In the world of flying saucers an all-purpose electromagnetic (E-M) -force, unknown to earth scientists, is supposed to be able to produce -light and heat, disturb a compass, render an object radioactive, stop a -wrist watch without damaging the man who wears it, interfere with the -functioning of radio and TV sets, turn out the lights of automobiles, -stop the action of gasoline engines, and aid in the creating of -artificial gravitational fields (G-fields) around extraterrestrial -spaceships. - -UFOs equipped with E-M powers have occasionally been reported in -France since 1954[IX-1], but they had rarely appeared in the United -States until late in 1957 when freak weather in Texas, plus the birth -of the space age, started a new wave of flying-saucer incidents. Few -spectacular UFOs had appeared since the 1952 panic (_Chapter_ VII) and -the average citizen had almost forgotten about flying saucers. Then on -October 4, 1957, when Sputnik I went into orbit and opened the door -to outer space, people once more began to watch the heavens uneasily. -Uneasiness became alarm a month later when, with American satellites -still sitting on the launching pad, Sputnik II roared into space. A -ball of fire floating over a field in western Texas provided the small -stimulus needed to turn alarm into hysteria, and for several weeks -people tended to see spaceships in every cloud and every unfamiliar -light in the sky. The reasoning seemed to be that if man with his -limited powers could launch satellites to orbit the planet, why -shouldn’t interplanetary ships already be visiting the earth? - -In the months of November and December the Air Force received more UFO -reports than during the entire ten months preceding, and the reports -had their highest frequency in the single week following November -2[IX-2]. For a period of about eight days, if all the stories were -true, our skies were crowded with flying saucers. - -Spaceships with electromagnetic powers roved from the Dominican -Republic to Alaska; they stopped automobiles, turned off headlights, -jammed radios and stopped clocks in cars, blurred TV sets in the home, -dimmed the cabin lights in airplanes, and altered a speedometer to -register a dangerously high speed instead of the legal sixty miles per -hour. (Whether the driver in question offered this novel defense to a -judge in traffic court is unknown.) Police in squad cars pursued UFOs -in Elmwood Park, Illinois; Danville, Illinois; and Hammond, Indiana. In -Brazil, an orange-colored, whistling UFO hovered near Fort Itaipu and -first caused a temporary failure of the lights, then knocked out the -generating plant for several moments. A driver in Santa Fe, New Mexico, -saw a UFO that not only stalled his car but also stopped the dashboard -clock and the driver’s own wrist watch. A driver in western Texas saw -a UFO that, not content with stopping the engine and radio of his car, -also magnetized the right half of the bumper and a part of the fender. -One driver reported that his car and those of several other motorists -had stalled near Cortez, Colorado; he had not thought of looking at the -sky, but any saucer enthusiast could have told him that a UFO must have -been hovering there. - -In addition to these special models equipped with Medusa-like powers, -other spaceships allegedly landed briefly at the military installation -at White Sands, New Mexico; harassed a United States Coast Guard ship -in the Gulf of Mexico; landed in Ohio and raised the radioactivity -level of the ground; and stopped in Nebraska for repairs. - - -_Stormy Weather in Texas_ - -The new type of UFO with electromagnetic (E-M) powers first attracted -notice in this country by allegedly appearing near Levelland, Texas, on -the night of November 2, 1957, a few hours before Sputnik II went into -orbit. A small town with a population of about 8000, Levelland lies on -the plains of western Texas about sixty miles from Plainview, site of -a famous meteor shower, and only twenty-five miles from Lubbock, which -a few years earlier had gained national fame with its “Lubbock lights” -(p. 123). The region is normally an arid one, but at the beginning -of November it was experiencing unusual weather--electrical storms -and rain (the month proved to be the wettest ever recorded in western -Texas). - -About 11:15 that Saturday night, a farmworker named Pedro Saucedo (or -Saucido) with his friend Joe Palaz (also given in various printed -accounts as Palav, Salav, Salaz, Salvaz) was driving home from -Levelland. A few miles northwest of the town he had turned off Route -116 into a side road, when both men noticed a flash of light in a field -at the right. Evidently unalarmed, he continued driving and talking -until suddenly the engine died and the lights went out. While trying -to restart the motor, Saucedo (the similarity between “Saucedo” and -“saucer” presents a diverting coincidence) glimpsed over his left -shoulder something that looked like a flaming ball or a fiery tornado -drifting rapidly toward the truck. A veteran of combat in Korea, -Saucedo reacted instantaneously to the blazing unknown. As he described -the experience later that night, “I jumped out of the truck and hit the -dirt because I was afraid. I called to Joe but he didn’t get out. The -thing passed directly over my truck with a great sound and a rush of -wind. It sounded like thunder and my truck rocked from the flash.... I -felt a lot of heat.” Crawling out and seeing the object disappear in -the direction of Levelland, he restarted the engine and drove back to -Levelland to report the incident to the sheriff[IX-2]. - -The sheriff was soon receiving reports from other persons who had been -driving in the same area at about the same time. They said that they, -too, had seen a blazing object which they described as a “flying egg” -or “egg-shaped fireball.” Their cars, like Saucedo’s, had stalled and -then restarted when the object disappeared. A number of townspeople -telephoned the authorities to report bright flashes in the sky, and the -police comment that “everyone who called was very excited”[IX-3] was -probably an understatement. - -Under headlines such as “Mystery Object Stalls Autos in West Texas,” -these stories hit newspapers all over the nation. The news spread fast. -All day Sunday dozens of persons in Texas and New Mexico were relating -that they, too, had seen fiery objects and flashes of light in the sky -the night before. An amazingly large number of citizens seem to have -been out late that stormy Saturday night, but apparently none of them -noticed any ordinary lightning--only phantom “somethings” variously -described as a burning mass, a big light, an egg-shaped object 200 feet -long lighted up as though it were on fire, something like neon lights, -objects that were red, glowing, brilliant, fiery, bluish-green, or -pulsating green. - -Not surprisingly, with all this publicity, the original incident -quickly began to take on new dimensions. Saucedo amplified his first -statements and recalled that the object had been “torpedo-shaped,” -“like a rocket, but much larger,” and that lights on the object had -seemed to be winking on and off[IX-4]. - -For days the Russian satellites had to share the spotlight with the -American flying eggs, while both amateur and professional investigators -tried to solve the mystery. The proponents of UFOs deduced the presence -of a flying saucer with E-M powers. Various astronomers, when urged -by newsmen, reluctantly advanced off-the-cuff theories based on the -meager printed accounts. Dr. La Paz, of the Institute of Meteoritics -in New Mexico, suggested that the things seen at Levelland might -have been fireballs. A reporter assigned to the Harvard-Smithsonian -Observatories to cover Moonwatch observations of the new Sputnik gave -a sketchy summary of the incident to Dr. Menzel, who also concluded -that Saucedo might have seen an unusually bright meteor and, startled -by its brilliance, might accidentally have killed the engine. Lacking -news of Sputnik II, the reporter sent in a facetious story asserting -that, according to the director of the Harvard College Observatory, -the flying eggs were mirages that so frightened the drivers that they -reacted by pressing a “nervous foot” on the accelerator and killing -the engine. When the weather conditions at Levelland became known, of -course, the meteor theory was immediately discarded. Dr. Nininger, -of the American Meteorite Museum in Arizona, made the best guess of -all: Saucedo had observed an example of that rare phenomenon, ball -lightning[IX-5]. - -Within a few days an Air Force investigator visited Levelland to study -the incident. Members of civilian saucer groups complained later that, -since he spent only seven hours in the area, he had obviously not taken -the problem seriously and could not have found the correct solution. -Even seventy hours of labor, however, could not have produced a clearer -picture. Saucedo had unquestionably had a frightening experience, very -much as he originally described it. But as in many UFO sightings, -most of the other reports had been stimulated chiefly by the general -excitement. Three persons, not “dozens,” had seen the phenomenon near -the ground. From ten to fifteen others (including the sheriff) had not -observed it at close quarters but had merely seen brilliant flashes of -light in the sky. - -After studying the weather reports and the descriptions given by the -various witnesses, the Air Force issued an explanation, unfortunately -ambiguous because it omitted the necessary word “either,” stating that -the phenomenon observed at Levelland had been “ball lightning or St. -Elmo’s fire.” Supporters of the saucer theory seized on this ambiguity -to protest, correctly, that ball lightning and St. Elmo’s fire are -two different phenomena. They went on to conclude by some process of -peculiar logic that neither ball lightning nor St. Elmo’s fire was -involved and that the phenomenon had actually been a flying saucer. - -Saucer publications have printed thousands of words to support this -argument. The evidence, however, leads to an overwhelming probability: -the fiery unknown at Levelland was ball lightning. - - -_The Phenomenon of Ball Lightning_ - -Most of us know very little about lightning. On the average, it causes -some 180 deaths each year. Many persons when caught outdoors by a -thunderstorm run to shelter under a tree, not realizing that the tree -itself offers the most attractive target to the electrically charged -clouds overhead. Even the scientists who make a special study of the -phenomenon still have much to learn about the conditions that produce -lightning and its various manifestations[IX-6]. - -The most familiar type is the lightning we see in stormy weather; -it flashes in brilliant zigzags from zenith to horizon, darts from -cloud to cloud, or strikes like a javelin toward earth. At night, -particularly in the country where no city lights mask its brilliance, -lightning can be a frightening elemental force. A form popularly -called “heat” or “sheet” lightning is a familiar, almost playful -phenomenon in the midwest and southwest, although comparatively rare -on the east coast. In hot, humid weather it flares intermittently -near the horizon, noiseless because the luminous “sheets” are merely -reflections of an ordinary zigzag flash that is too far away to be -heard. “Bead lightning” has also been reported, appearing as a chain -of spheroids that gradually fade away as they discharge. A spectacular -display of “pinched lightning,” an even rarer phenomenon (see Plate -Va), was photographed in late August 1961 at Los Alamos, New Mexico, -during a severe thunderstorm[IX-7]. Ball lightning, which seems to -be commoner in Europe than in North America (just as tornadoes are -commoner in North America than in Europe) is so little understood that -some scientists have doubted its reality. In recent years, laboratory -research has added much to our knowledge of ball lightning and Soviet -scientists in particular have studied it as a possible weapon against -enemy planes[IX-8]. - -Ball lightning is usually described as a luminous ball whose diameter -ranges from a few inches to several feet; the color may be red to -orange or blue to white. These lightning balls appear most frequently -toward the end of an electrical storm when the air is highly ionized, -often just after a nearby lightning flash. They look and act like solid -objects. They can hang motionless or drift in the air, glide along -telephone wires or fences, roll down chimneys and across the floor to -radio or TV sets, float a few inches above the ground or high in the -sky. The ball persists as an entity for a time ranging from several -seconds to many minutes; it may then evaporate noiselessly, or may -disappear with an explosive noise and a force that can damage nearby -objects[IX-8a]. One of the few existing photographs of ball lightning -was taken at Lincoln, Nebraska, on August 30, 1930 (see Plate Vb). - -American, European, and Soviet scientists have suggested various -theories, none of them entirely satisfactory, to explain the formation -of ball lightning[IX-9, IX-10, IX-11]. These evanescent fiery globes -probably represent some sort of continuous electric current perhaps -held together by its own magnetic field, like the fabled hoop snake -that could roll along the ground by holding its tail in its mouth. - -In 1938 the pilot of a BOAC plane en route to Iraq, flying in dense -cloud and rain at 8500 feet, reported that a ball of fire had entered -the rear cabin and burst with a loud explosion. One or two minutes -later it (or another lightning ball) entered the cockpit through the -window which was open for visibility, singed the hair and eyebrows of -the pilot, then bounced on through the forward passenger cabin and into -the rear cabin, where it again exploded[IX-12]. - -Similar incidents have been reported by Soviet pilots. In the summer -of 1956, a Soviet transport plane flying at about 10,000 feet was -struck by ball lightning during a very rough flight through a stormy -cold front. A fiery red-orange ball ten to fifteen inches in diameter -appeared in front of the aircraft, swerved to the left, struck the left -propeller and exploded with a loud detonation and a blinding white -flash. The intense electrical discharge destroyed radio communication -between the plane and the ground and disabled the radio compass. In -attempting to disconnect the antenna, the radio operator received an -electric shock. When the plane landed and was examined, one of the -blades of the left propeller was found to be slightly damaged and a -small fused area and a deposit of soot were found on the edge of the -airfoil a few inches from its end[IX-13]. - -A similar case occurred in December 1956, when a Soviet jet had entered -a storm cloud and was climbing through it. As the plane reached the top -of the cloud, at an altitude of 12,000 to 15,000 feet, ball lightning -suddenly appeared a short distance ahead and to the right of the plane, -and exploded with a dull but piercing noise and a blinding flash; the -ball then broke into a series of beads. Although one of the engines -close to the ball died at the instant of the explosion, the crew were -able to start it again and the flight continued normally. After landing -and finding no mechanical damage, they concluded that the engine had -failed temporarily because the explosion had formed a region of -intense rarefied air that deprived the engine of oxygen[IX-13]. - -Ball lightning has often been reported near the ground, as in -the Levelland case. In the summer of 1934 Mr. Durward, a British -meteorologist, while driving along the bank of a lake observed the -phenomenon: “It began to rain heavily, with slight or moderate thunder -and lightning. His son, a boy of twelve, was opening the iron gates, -spaced at intervals on this road, and found one difficult to open. -Mr. Durward, while walking the short distance from the motor-car to -the gate to assist his son, saw among the pine trees on his left what -looked like a ball of fire about 12 in. in diameter moving towards -them. It struck the iron gatepost farthest from the latch. There was no -noise, but the boy, who had his hand on the latch, gave a yell; for the -next few hours he was unable to lower his arm.”[IX-12] - -In Levelland the night of November 2 conditions were ideal for the -formation of ball lightning. For several days the area had been -experiencing freak weather, and on the night in question had been -visited by rain, thunderstorms, and lightning. Shortly before the -glowing sphere approached the truck, the two men had noticed a -lightning flash in a nearby field. The original description of the -phenomenon--a “flaming ball” or a “fiery tornado” that floated toward -and over the truck and detonated with light and heat--fits the classic -picture of ball lightning. The truck’s engine may have died for one of -several reasons. The rain during the evening could have seeped under -the hood and soaked the ignition or dampened the spark plugs. The -feed line may have been clogged. Or the region of highly rarefied air -created by the ball lightning may temporarily have deprived the engine -of oxygen. - -Of the other drivers near Levelland that night who reported having -trouble with balky motors and seeing a blazing object like an -egg-shaped fireball, three probably saw ball lightning. Others, after -hearing Saucedo’s frightening story, perhaps unconsciously dramatized -their own experiences and magnified ordinary lightning flashes into -attacking fiery objects. It is significant that although the night -was stormy, only Saucedo reported seeing the ordinary lightning that -normally accompanies a thunderstorm. - -Since ball lightning is short-lived and cannot be preserved as -tangible evidence, its appearance in Levelland on the night of November -2 can never be absolutely proved, even though this explanation fits -all the facts--facts that in themselves do not warrant so lengthy a -study. Only the saucer proponents could have converted so trivial a -series of events--a few stalled automobiles, balls of flame in the sky -at the end of a thunderstorm--into a national mystery. Ball lightning -doubtless accounts for other UFO reports, such as the phenomenon -observed at Lock Raven Dam on October 26, 1958, when two men returning -late at night from a fishing trip saw a flaming ball hovering above the -superstructure of a bridge; the ball exploded with a loud noise and a -brilliant white flash and disappeared. - - -_E-M and Non-E-M Saucers_ - -The next UFOs reported in this series belonged to the old-fashioned, -non-E-M variety. From White Sands Proving Grounds near Alamogordo, -New Mexico, came a report that military police, while patrolling the -up-range in a jeep about 2:30 Sunday morning (a few hours after the -Saucedo incident), had seen a brilliant reddish-orange light, shaped -like an egg, hovering in the sky. From its apparent distance (two to -three miles away) and apparent size (as large as a grapefruit held at -arm’s length), the men deduced that it was a huge object, 75 to 100 -yards in diameter[IX-2]. After remaining motionless for about three -minutes, it descended toward the ground and disappeared. (According -to some versions, it later rose into the sky and then disappeared.) -Members of another jeep patrol soon matched this tale with the report -that on Sunday night about eight o’clock they had seen a bright, -glowing object hovering in the sky but, instead of landing, it suddenly -climbed until it got so far up it looked like a star. Both jeeps, it -should be noted, continued to function normally. - -Officials at White Sands soon dampened the excitement. The description -of the light that appeared at 2:30 A.M. included certain doubtful -factors. The night had been overcast and so dark that the stars were -not visible, although the cloud cover was broken at intervals. Since -the sighting had not included any object of known distance or known -size for comparison, the estimates of the UFO’s distance and size -were of no value. The light might have been small and close; it might -equally well have been huge and far away. Under the circumstances, -the most probable explanation was that the men had glimpsed the moon -(then roughly half full) through broken clouds, and that the apparent -movement was an illusion produced by the moving clouds. The Sunday -evening UFO was unquestionably the planet Venus. Then nearly at maximum -brilliance, it was a conspicuous object in the western sky after sunset -and inspired many saucer reports during this week of anxiety. - -The White Sands incidents had reached the papers, however, and -contributed to the general hysteria. By Monday afternoon, flying eggs -were allegedly stopping automobiles as far north as Canada, but the -Southwest continued to hold the center of the UFO stage against all -competition. - -On Monday night, November 4, the Alamogordo, New Mexico, radio station -broadcast a dramatic interview with an engineer from Holloman Air -Force Base, New Mexico, describing his sighting of an E-M-radiating -UFO at least 500 feet long. About one o’clock on Monday afternoon, Mr. -X stated, he was returning to base after a weekend in El Paso[IX-4]. -While driving along a desert stretch of U. S. Highway 54 near the town -of Orogrande, he noticed a group of cars stopped ahead of him, their -passengers standing in the road, pointing at the sky. Looking up, he -saw an iridescent egg-shaped object at least 500 feet long--more than -twice the size of the UFOs reported in the preceding two days. As it -approached, the flying egg exerted a force that killed the engine -of his car, generated a wave of heat that gave him a bad burn, and -demonstrated a startling new characteristic: it silenced the radio -in his car. (During the next few days, reports of similar encounters -usually included a jammed radio.) When the UFO took off toward the -mountains and disappeared, Mr. X started his car again and drove on -into Alamogordo to the home of a friend, Mrs. Coral Lorenzen. - -One of the most zealous amateur investigators of UFO reports, Mrs. -Lorenzen had founded the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO) -(see _Chapter_ XIII) in January 1952, and from 1954 to 1956 had been -employed at Holloman Air Force Base. After listening to Mr. X’s -story and examining the notes he had scribbled during the sighting -(unfortunately they proved to be illegible, but for some reason no one -has ever suggested that the pen or pencil was also hexed by the UFO), -she hurried him down to the local radio station where he made the taped -interview that was broadcast later that evening. - -A daylight visit by an E-M flying egg 500 feet in length would -supposedly have attracted the attention of many witnesses. Air Force -investigators could find only one: Mr. X. According to his testimony, -the passengers of several automobiles (his estimate of the number of -cars varied from time to time but he eventually settled on ten) had -stood in the road watching the unknown object. A persistent search -by Air Force officials failed to locate any one of these persons. -The witness showed no sign of the burns he allegedly suffered. In -short, the only evidence to support his story was Mr. X’s own and the -authorities sensibly concluded that the incident was either a hoax or a -hallucination, inspired by newspaper publicity about Levelland’s flying -eggs. - -Tuesday morning’s chief contribution to the UFO epidemic was not to be -laughed off so easily, for it was made by trained military personnel. -At 5:10 A.M. on November 5, the Coast Guard cutter _Sebago_, traveling -north in the Gulf of Mexico, detected an erratically maneuvering UFO on -the radarscope. The swiftly moving object would race across and off the -scope, only to reappear almost immediately from another direction and -position and again move off the scope at incredible speed. After ten -minutes the radar target vanished, but watchers on the deck glimpsed a -glowing object, brilliant as a planet; it streaked across the sky just -above the northwest horizon and vanished. The unknown radar targets -then returned and continued to fill the scope with their incredible -movements until 5:37, when they finally disappeared and did not return. - -This mystery, too, yielded to orderly investigation. Air Force radar -experts made a detailed analysis of the data and positively identified -the mysterious returns. They had not come from the complex air traffic -overhead, as had first been suggested, nor from a fantastically -maneuverable spaceship. They were merely false targets produced by -the weather conditions (see _Chapter_ VIII). The brilliant light that -flashed across the sky was not reported by the radarscope and had no -relation to the radar returns. In view for a few seconds at most, -brilliant in the morning twilight (the sun rose some fifty minutes -later), the flash of light was probably a distant meteor--November is -rich in meteor displays. - - -_The Saturnian Visitors_ - -Tuesday evening while the nation was still wondering about the flying -eggs in New Mexico and the invisible UFOs that buzzed the _Sebago_, -welcome comic relief appeared. A man named Schmidt, a grain buyer, -announced that during the afternoon he had visited with the crew of -a flying saucer that had landed to make repairs. While driving in -the country near Kearney, Nebraska, he said, he had noticed a bright -flash about a quarter of a mile away. Going closer to investigate, he -perceived a huge silvery ship a hundred feet long, thirty feet wide, -and fourteen feet high, which had landed in a dry river bed. The motor -of his car then died. He got out and was walking toward the ship when a -light shot out and paralyzed him. The ship opened and two men emerged. -After searching him for concealed weapons, they released him from -paralysis and invited him into the ship, where he spent half an hour -chatting with these strangers and their female companions, mostly in -High German and English. (He knew that they came from outer space but -not until some weeks later, when they paid him a second visit, did he -discover that they were natives of the planet Saturn.)[IX-14] After he -left the ship it rose straight up into the sky and disappeared, while -he hurried back to town to report to the sheriff, to broadcast an -account of his experience over the local radio, and to give his story -to the newspapers. - -It is perhaps a measure of the panic level that week that local -officials actually examined the ground at the “landing” site, looking -for evidence. They found none. The four “hydraulic rams” that allegedly -supported the huge machine had left no imprint on the sand of the dry -river bed. Traces of oil found on the ground were tested chemically and -proved to be the same brand that the witness carried in the trunk of -his car. - -Gaining national notoriety from this incident, Schmidt soon became -a popular lecturer at flying-saucer clubs, thrilling the audience -with tales of later visits from the Saturnians and his journeys -in their spaceship to the Arctic Circle, through the waters under -the North Pole, and even into outer space. A year or so later his -extraterrestrial friends allegedly tipped him off to the location of -certain valuable minerals on earth, including veins of quartz that had -the desirable property of curing cancer. To mine this quartz and thus -make it available to humanity, he enlisted the sympathy and financial -aid of a number of lonely, wealthy widows. Some of these ladies -eventually came to believe that they had been the victims of fraud and, -in 1961, a California jury agreed with them. The Saturnians apparently -have not yet reappeared to help their friend out of his difficulties. - - -_Surveillance by Flying Eggs_ - -Wednesday November 6 was relatively calm on the UFO front, although -automobile engines died, radios malfunctioned, and TV screens -blurred at about the time that lights were reported in the sky in -Texas, New Mexico, Illinois, and Canada. Accounts received later by -saucer organizations stated that on Tuesday (or Wednesday) night an -orange-colored, whistling, E-M type of UFO had hovered near Fort Itaipu -in Brazil, caused a temporary failure of the electric lights, and then -knocked out the generating plant for several moments. Since the alleged -visitation occurred in a foreign country it was not, of course, open to -study by the United States Air Force. In any case investigation would -have been difficult, since the report failed to include such facts as -the exact time of appearance, position, and direction of movement of -the UFO. The witnesses, whose names were not given, apparently related -the incident under pledge of secrecy to other persons who insisted -on remaining anonymous, who passed the story on to still others who -refused to be named, who in turn gave the news to reporters, who signed -only their initials[IX-15]. So insubstantial a tale obviously does -not merit serious investigation. The dimming of electric lights and -the capricious behavior of a generating system are not extraordinary -phenomena and no UFO is required to account for them. - -The next incident to gain publicity in this amazing week occurred on -Thursday (or Wednesday) evening when a UFO allegedly landed in Ohio -and then vanished. Driving home in the early evening along a country -road, a Mr. Olden Moore saw a glowing UFO in the sky. At first it -looked small, like a star, but it rapidly increased in size and split -apart in the air as it descended and apparently landed in a nearby -field. Moore stopped his car, intending to investigate, but for some -reason he changed his mind and instead drove on home to get his -wife. When they returned and searched the field they found nothing. -Nevertheless, they reported the incident to the authorities and next -day a Civilian Defense official, arriving to check the ground where the -UFO supposedly had landed, reported the level of radioactivity “far -above normal.” - -A woman living half a mile away from the field in question reported -that, although she herself had not seen a UFO, her TV set had blurred -at about the time of the sighting, and on the following day she found -that her car, parked near the house, was pockmarked. Applying his -Geiger counter to the car, the Civilian Defense official pronounced it -radioactive[IX-16]. This UFO apparently possessed highly selective E-M -powers: it did not stop the engine of Mr. Moore’s car but did interfere -with the operation of a TV set half a mile away! - -Air Force investigators patiently collected and sifted the facts. -The supposed landing site showed nothing abnormal--the grass was not -burned, the earth was not disturbed, no foreign material could be -found. The normal radioactivity of the ground in the area measured .18 -milliroentgens; at the supposed landing site the measure had been .20 -milliroentgens. This difference of .02 is not “far above normal” but -well within the probable error in the calibration of the instruments. - -Interviews with other Ohioans who had also seen the glowing unknown -provided the answer: the UFO was a large meteor, conspicuous in the -dusk of early evening. Traveling directly toward the witness, it -had looked like a glowing sphere suspended in the air and rapidly -increasing in brightness. Near the end of its flight it split into two -or more pieces and fell silently to the earth, not “in the next field” -but perhaps many miles away. The blurring of the TV set may have been -mere coincidence or, if the meteor had actually passed close by, may -have resulted from the ionized trail of the meteor (see _Chapter_ V). - - -_Saucerdom’s Miraculous Electromagnetic Force_ - -Most of us remember the nursery tale of Chicken-Little, who started a -panic in the barnyard kingdom with her eyewitness report that the sky -was falling: “I saw it with my eyes, I heard it with my ears, and a -piece of it fell on my tail.” Calm was restored in the kingdom, after -a time, when the prosaic truth came to light: a falling acorn, not a -piece of the sky, had grazed the credulous chick. - -In somewhat similar fashion, the hysteria caused by the car-stalling -flying eggs subsided. As the Russian satellites gliding across the -night sky proved more interesting to the public than hypothetical -spaceships, flying-saucer stories occupied less and less space in -the daily papers and the number of UFO reports dwindled. Air Force -investigators worked hard at the job of separating facts from fantasy -and by Saturday November 9, 1957, the end of a wild week, the panic was -over. During the two years following, 1958 and 1959, fewer than a dozen -E-M-equipped UFOs were reported over the entire American continent. - -The civilian flying-saucer groups, however, rejected the -normal explanations of the November reports except that of the -Schmidt-Saturnian meeting, which all but the cultists indignantly -denounced as a hoax publicized to embarrass sincere students of UFOs. -Dissatisfied with the solutions found by the Air Force, the National -Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) carried out an -independent study (see _Chapter_ XIII) of the November sightings, -and in June 1960 issued a booklet entitled “Electro-Magnetic Effects -Associated With Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO’s).” After examining -many reports of E-M phenomena and rejecting an unspecified number as -unreliable, members of the investigating committee studied the evidence -in a series of eighty-one incidents occurring over a period of fifteen -years, roughly a third of which were reported during the week of the -Levelland panic[IX-17]. - -The cases include instances in which, allegedly, electrical -appliances failed to function, at the same time and the same place -in which a witness observed a UFO. In some cases a witness observed -electromagnetic effects but did not see a UFO, at the same time that -a neighboring witness saw a UFO but did not observe electromagnetic -effects. The effects in question include the stopping, missing, -sputtering, and near-quitting of automobile motors; the dimming or -flickering of automobile headlights; static, roar, or fading of car -radios; the dimming and brightening of house lights; the dimming and -brightening of cabin lights in airplanes; the blurring of TV screens; -the temporary loss of picture and/or sound in a TV set; the stopping of -watches and clocks; and odd noises over a telephone wire. - -This list may astonish the average citizen who has often endured -similar annoyances and never thought of blaming UFOs for his troubles. -Most householders know that watches run down, that houselights dim -and brighten with the changing demands made on the city electrical -system, and that a plane flying over a house can blur the image on a -TV screen. There can be few readers of this book who have not at some -time experienced such brief frustrations with automobiles, radios, TV -sets, and timepieces--the ordinary troubles that keep our repairmen in -business without assistance from UFOs. - -To the heterogeneous data provided by these eighty-one cases, the -committee attempted to apply the precise tools of logic and mathematics -in order to establish a correlation between UFOs and electromagnetic -effects, and concluded that a cause-and-effect relationship probably -did exist. - -With suitable material, statistical methods can suggest a correlation -between any two sets of facts and can estimate the probability that -the correlation is significant and not due to chance. No competent -statistician, however, would try to apply the methods to such amorphous -and uncertain data as those used by the committee. More than a third of -the incidents cited come from newspaper accounts or the private files -of saucer organizations in foreign countries. All leave many unanswered -questions. At least two involve fully identified objects: the great -fireball of September 18, 1954 (p. 92), and the three fireballs of -April 6, 1955, may well have caused some radio interference but they -were not UFOs. Even with the well-reported cases, a conscientious -historian would find it nearly impossible to determine precisely what -the witnesses saw, what they heard, what they did, and what they said. - -The various printed accounts of the Levelland incidents, for example, -vary in many details. The events took place in an atmosphere of -excitement and the stories inevitably changed slightly with each -retelling. The reports of Air Force investigators, records in the files -of civilian saucer organizations, statements in newspapers, magazines, -and books--no two give exactly the same version of any given incident. -Although the points of disagreement are often trivial, they are -sometimes vital to finding the correct explanation. - -Even if, for the sake of argument, a statistician were willing to -accept the evidence of the eighty-one cases at face value, he would -still not attempt to establish a correlation between UFOs and E-M -effects. The probability that a (postulated) UFO will appear at a given -time or place is unknown; the probability that an electrical appliance -will fail to work at a given time or place is equally unknown. Hence -the probability that the two phenomena will occur together at a given -time and place is a concept that has no meaning. - - -_Effects and Causes_ - -Asked to explain what caused the failures of engines, radios, watches, -etc. reported during the week of the Levelland sightings, any high -school physics student who answered, “Some new kind of electromagnetic -force” would properly receive a grade of zero. Admittedly there are -physical phenomena that the scientist does not yet understand, but -he does know that electrical and magnetic forces do not and can not -perform all the feats attributed to them by saucer enthusiasts. - -The electrical failures ascribed to E-M forces undoubtedly had a -variety of causes. Automobile engines can stall for many reasons. Rain -seeping under the hood of a car can soak the ignition and temporarily -interfere with smooth operation. Sand or dust or a vapor lock in the -fuel line can do the same. The body of an automobile is metal and -completely encloses the ignition system and the motor. The engine -stops if it is deprived of gasoline or oxygen, but it does not stop -if lightning strikes the car. The metal body acts as a shield that -electrical forces cannot penetrate. - -Every driver knows that the reception on a car radio normally varies -from poor to fair; it rarely remains constant. While moving beneath a -power line, a car may receive no radio signals at all. A high-tension -line can be surrounded by an electrical field that makes a radio set -hum or buzz raucously and completely jams the reception. Static or -a powerful interfering signal can easily jam a car’s radio, but no -electrical field, static or oscillating, can kill a car’s motor or -shut off its lights or stop the dashboard clock; it could not stop -the driver’s wrist watch, and it could not stop a man’s watch without -seriously injuring the wearer, even if he were standing in an open -field. - -Radio and TV sets may function badly for one of many reasons. They -may simply need a good repairman! A passing plane, a more powerful -transmitting station on the air, auroral activity, stormy weather, -ultraviolet radiation, or clouds of ejected atoms from the sun--any of -these can disrupt radio or TV communication, but they do not interfere -with the operation of gasoline engines. - -All meteors bright enough to be seen can cause some radio and TV -interference--and in the first week of November the Taurid shower -is approaching its maximum. Although meteors do not, by themselves, -emit any appreciable amount of radio energy, the friction between the -swiftly moving meteoric body and the atmosphere produces a train of hot -gases that can momentarily reflect radio waves. The brightest meteors -leave behind them a persistent cloud of luminous, electrified gas that -can absorb radio waves and thus blanket incoming signals for several -minutes after the meteor has passed. A spectacular fireball observed -about 8:30 P.M. M.S.T. on April 18, 1962, momentarily turned off the -street lights in the town of Eureka, Utah; it was so bright that it -triggered the photoelectric control, just as daybreak does[IX-17a]. - -No imaginable single force--electric, magnetic, or gravitational--could -possibly have caused _all_ the effects attributed to saucerdom’s -miraculous electromagnetic force. An E-M field with the postulated -powers is as improbable as a force that would lift fallen apples from -the ground and draw them up to reunite with the branches of their -parent tree. - -Let us suppose for a moment, however, that the incidents in the -Levelland epidemic might have occurred just as they are described by -the NICAP committee. If UFOs had been visiting the earth that week, -projecting a force field that performed as claimed, certain other -events should also have occurred. - -Thousands of automobiles should have been, but were not, temporarily -disabled in the neighborhood of every car-stopping UFO. Fantastic -traffic jams have sometimes been caused by torrid weather and -consequent vapor locks in the fuel lines of automobile engines. In June -1961, for example, a sudden heat wave in Boston caused a vapor-lock -epidemic that tied up traffic on the main highways for three hours. On -some stretches of road so many cars were immobilized that, with their -hoods up to cool off, they looked “like a convention of pelicans.” No -such traffic jams were reported in connection with the 1957 UFOs. In -South Springfield, Ohio, a car and a taxicab stalled but the vehicles -around them experienced no trouble. One car stalled in Houston and -another in Santa Fe, but the traffic around them proceeded as usual. - -Hundreds of TV sets should have blurred, but did not, in the -neighborhood of every TV-blurring UFO. - -Equally surprising, no one complained of UFO interference with hi-fi -sets, vacuum cleaners, refrigerators, washing machines, irons, -freezers, or electric razors. No airplane, helicopter, motorcycle, or -ocean liner reported engine trouble. - -At least two landings were reported, in New Mexico and Ohio. No -physical evidence of landing could be found--shrubs were not crushed, -grass was not scorched, ground was not disturbed. - -Except for the _Sebago_, no radar reported the presence of a UFO. - -Moonwatch teams, trained specifically to detect, observe, and plot -the exact path of moving objects in the sky, were on the alert that -week all over the United States and Canada. They did not see even one -unidentified flying object. - - -_“G-Fields” and UFO Propulsion_ - -Even more fantastic than the E-M force that stops cars and silences -radios is the artificial gravitational field or “G-field,” which -saucer enthusiasts call on to account for all UFOs whose reported -behavior clearly contradicts the laws of physics. Employing -electromagnetic forces, the UFOs supposedly can create a variety -of G-fields as needed, to be used as a defense weapon, a means to -invisibility, or a method of propulsion[IX-18, IX-19]. - -Writers of science fiction have regularly utilized similar handy -expedients such as “gravity shields,” “force fields,” “inertia drives,” -and “space warps” to move their heroes quickly from earth to remote -parts of the galaxy. Physicists, too, dream of revealing new aspects of -nature that would allow man to nullify the effects of gravity and make -short cuts through space, but they realize that such devices, even if -theoretically not impossible, must await unimaginable discoveries about -nature and are at least far in the future. - -Unlike the amateur investigator of UFOs, both the storyteller and -the physicist know that if and when such advances are made, they -will enlarge our understanding of the cosmos, as did the creative -insights of Galileo, Newton, and Einstein, but new discoveries cannot -invalidate what we have already learned about how the universe works. -Many of the properties ascribed to UFOs imply a complete breakdown of -physical law. They belong to the realm of magic, not science. Traveling -at speeds approaching the velocity of light, reversing direction -instantaneously, achieving maximum acceleration or deceleration in -a fraction of a second, becoming invisible at will--such feats are -impossible for a solid body moving either in an atmosphere or in space. -Most of the serious proponents of the saucer hypothesis acknowledge -that such actions are impossible, according to our present knowledge, -but they argue that alien races more advanced than earthmen have -undoubtedly found new sources of power and developed new methods of -propulsion. Elaborate theories have been constructed, phrased in nearly -incomprehensible scientific jargon, to show that UFOs do not flout the -laws of physics but merely operate under laws that are still unknown to -human beings. - -To UFO investigators whose professional training lies chiefly in -fields other than physics--business, the arts, entertainment, military -science, government, the law, medicine, or religion--such theories -might well seem plausible. But to the physicist they seem so irrational -that they do not even deserve discussion, and he dismisses them as -nonsense. Saucer believers thereupon denounce the physicist as a -bigot, complain of his “closed mind,” and piously invoke the ghost -of Galileo. They forget, apparently, that the persecutors of Galileo -were specialists in theology and had only a nodding acquaintance with -astronomy. - -One of the earliest theories of UFO propulsion suggested that saucers -got their motive power by tapping the lines of force in the earth’s -magnetic field. One author wrote: - -“The earth being simply a huge magnet, a dynamo wound with magnetic -lines of force as its coils, tenescopically [the meaning of this -impressive word is unknown to the present authors] counted to be 1,257 -to the square centimeter in one direction and 1,850 to the square -centimeter in the other direction (eddy currents), indicates that -natural law has placed these lines as close together as the hairs on -one’s head. And yet they never touch or cross each other if let alone. -If done so by accident the catastrophe would spread like a searchlight -and destroy everything in its path.”[IX-20, p. 139] - -The same author asserts that such a “catastrophe” is the true -explanation of Mantell’s death (p. 33). Supposedly objecting to his -close approach, the occupants of the saucer he was chasing manipulated -some of the lines of force until they crossed in front of Mantell; the -resulting surge of power knocked the plane out of the air. Under some -conditions, he adds, the crossing of the lines can produce desirable -effects, such as the Aurora Borealis, when “we have magnetic lines -of force that are crossing one another at or near the geographic and -the magnetic poles and as a result we see those beautiful colored -lights.”[IX-20, p. 141] - -To the physicist, these statements are an unsavory verbal hash. Lines -of force cannot provide a source of power and they cannot cause -explosions--they are not even real. Created merely to describe the -behavior of magnetic fields, they have no more objective existence than -a train of thought. By using the convenient fiction that lines of force -emerge from the north magnetic pole, spread apart as they flow around -the earth, and then crowd close together again as they enter the south -magnetic pole, the physicist is able to map observed variations in the -earth’s magnetic field. In a similar way the geographer uses contour -lines to map high and low areas on the earth’s surface. - -A spacecraft could not propel itself by hitching to magnetic lines of -force any more than a man could travel from Philadelphia to Peru by -sliding down the 75th line of longitude. - -The more sophisticated students of UFO behavior do not propose magnetic -lines of force as a source of power. In fact they skip lightly over the -awkward question of how the saucers are propelled and vaguely assert -that extraterrestrial vehicles obtain energy (apparently without doing -equivalent work) by somehow plugging in to the cosmic rays and magnetic -fields that exist in space. Thus having access to unlimited power, a -saucer supposedly draws on E-M forces to create and enclose itself -in a kind of cocoon of artificial gravity. This G-field cuts off the -attraction of the earth and other heavenly bodies, enables the saucer -to attract or repel any approaching object, and allows it to travel -almost as fast as light without suffering an increase in mass or a -transformation into energy[IX-18]. - - -_The G-Field Myth_ - -To explain the alleged properties and behavior of flying saucers, a -variety of speculations have been published on the nature and operation -of the G-field[IX-18, IX-19, IX-21]. In the physicist’s view, most of -these ideas belong more to the realm of magic than of science but we -shall summarize them briefly, with a few parenthetical comments. - -A UFO supposedly can travel at speeds of thousands of miles an hour and -shatter the sound barrier without making any noise because the G-field -would create a kind of protective envelope around the saucer. But if -the G-field breaks down for any reason, so that the protective envelope -is opened, then the ionized moving air hits ordinary static air and -creates the thunderous detonation produced by some UFOs. (Even with an -intact G-field, a boundary or gradient would always exist somewhere -between the air that was dragged along by the saucer and the air that -was not. A thunderous impact would certainly occur at this barrier.) - -The “invisible” UFOs supposedly become so by using the G-field to -bend or deflect rays of light. (It is true that starlight passing near -the sun’s gravitational field suffers a deflection that makes the star -appear slightly displaced from its actual position on the celestial -sphere, but a shift in apparent location does not dim a star and does -not make it invisible. Furthermore the amount of deflection is only -1.75 _seconds_ of arc, less than half of a thousandth of a degree! To -produce even this small deflection, a covey of saucers would have to be -able to increase its mass to equal that of the sun: 1.97 times 10^{33} -grams! What this increase in mass would do to the rest of the solar -system doesn’t bear thinking of.) - -Angel hair (see _Chapter_ XI) is supposed to be a waste product from -the operation of the G-field. The ionization of the air inside the -G-field allegedly would create heavy atoms that reacted chemically -with the atoms in ordinary air to produce a kind of precipitate that -falls to the ground and disappears as the ionization decreases. (In the -physics laboratory, ionization means taking an electron away from an -electrically neutral atom. The resulting atom would not be heavier. The -contact between ordinary air and that in the ionized trail of a meteor -has never yet produced “angel hair.” No laboratory has ever reported -that isotopes of oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and other elements in -the atmosphere can react with their normal analogues to produce -precipitates. A change in ionization cannot make a chemical compound -disappear.) - -The envelope of air enclosed by the G-field is supposed to allow a UFO -to accelerate or change direction instantaneously, even when flying -at enormous speeds, because the UFO would not encounter atmospheric -friction. (Vehicles moving in the earth’s gravitational field are also -surrounded by a cushion of air, but they still must overcome friction.) - -At this point the whole G-field myth falls apart. One of the -fundamental laws established by Newton, to which no exception has ever -been found in the laboratory, states that a moving object will continue -to move in a straight line unless it encounters an applied force. Let -us suppose, for the moment, that a gravity shield could suddenly be -interposed between a spacecraft and the earth, and thus make the craft -reverse its direction of flight. The occupants would still be subject -to the law of inertia. They would be hurled against the wall of the -craft with a violence far greater than that experienced by a plane -crashing to earth from an altitude of 30,000 feet. There could be no -cushioning of the blow. - -Such dreams demonstrate an almost contemptuous disregard for reality. -Physicists admittedly do not yet understand the basic nature of -gravity, but they do know a great deal about how it acts. Gravity is -the force that holds the universe together. It exerts a pull on all -objects in the physical world--the earth, the moon, the planets, our -sun, the distant stars, and even the stars in other galaxies. All -these bodies without exception move according to the law of universal -gravitation as formulated by Newton and refined by Einstein: Every -particle in the universe attracts every other particle with a force -that is proportional to the product of their masses, and inversely -proportional to the square of the distance between them. The magnitude -of the force depends only on the masses of the bodies and on their -distances from each other. It does not depend at all on the nature of -the medium that separates them. It operates unchanged through stone, -metal, water, air, or empty space. With a metal shield we can reduce -electrical forces to zero; with a soft-iron shield we can weaken -magnetic forces; but no substance existing in nature can act as a -shield to shut out the force of gravitation. - - -_Electricity, Magnetism, and Gravity_ - -No responsible scientist would assert that man has found out all -there is to know about the universe, and few would insist that some -kind of a shield for gravity is an absolute impossibility. As yet, -however, no laboratory has detected any phenomenon that might be -a clue to “negative gravity.” In recent years nuclear physicists -have occasionally caught fleeting glimpses of what has been called -“anti-matter,” electrons with positive charges and protons with -negative charges--the reverse of their charges in the normal world. -Some investigators have speculated on the gravitational properties of -anti-matter, and have wondered whether it might exert a force that -would repel instead of attract. - -So far no one has been able to think of an experiment to test the -idea. Even if someone could find a way to collect a thimbleful of -anti-matter, when he brought it into contact with normal matter, it, -he, and his surroundings would instantly detonate like a super-colossal -neutron bomb. Many physicists believe that, since electrical forces -operate independently of gravitational forces, interchanging the -charges on protons and electrons would probably have no effect on the -gravitational field. Theoretical study and computations may someday -yield an answer. - -For years scientists have been searching for a “unified field theory,” -a single equation that would describe the interrelationship among -electrical, magnetic, and gravitational forces. Such a mathematical -statement would reveal the mysterious bond that holds together the -atomic nucleus, imparts to atoms their unique structure, and keeps the -stars in their courses. But this unifying equation, when it is found, -will not make our present knowledge invalid. Enthusiasts are deluding -themselves when they base their belief in flying saucers on the hope -of overthrowing the laws of gravity and inertia. Gravity, magnetism, -and electricity are actual physical forces, as real as light, air, -houses, trees, or persons. They can act only according to the laws of -nature which, unlike the laws passed by legislatures, are not subject -to repeal. No juggling of words, no argument, no wish can change these -laws any more than they can stop the rising of the sun or the waning of -the moon. - -If man is ever to learn to control the force of gravity, he will -succeed not by denying the reality of the laws but only by finding out -what they are and by trying to understand them. - -[IX-1] Michel, A. _Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery._ New -York: Criterion Books, 1958. - -[IX-2] Air Force Files. - -[IX-3] El Paso (Texas) _Times_, Nov. 4, 1957. - -[IX-4] Barker, G. “Chasing the Flying Saucers,” _Flying Saucers_ (May -1958), p. 20 ff. - -[IX-5] Denver _Post_, Nov. 6, 1957. - -[IX-6] Viemeister, P. E. _The Lightning Book._ Garden City, N.Y.: -Doubleday & Co., 1961. - -[IX-7] Matthias, B. T., and Buchsbaum, S. J. “Pinched Lightning,” -_Nature_, Vol. 194 (1962), p. 327. - -[IX-8] Ritchie, D. J. _Ball Lightning._ A Collection of Soviet Research -in English Translation (1961). New York: Consultants Bureau. - -[IX-8a] Cade, C. M. “Thunderbolts as the X-weapon,” _Discovery_, Vol. -XXIII (1962), pp. 23–28. - -[IX-9] Kapitsa, P. L. “The Nature of Ball Lightning,” _Dokl. Akad. Nauk -SSSR_, Vol. CI, No. 2 (1955), pp. 245–48. (Translated in [IX-8].) - -[IX-10] Hill, E. L. “Ball Lightning as a Physical Phenomenon,” -_Bulletin American Meteorology Society_, Vol. XXXXI (1960), p. 199. - -[IX-11] Pierce, E. T.; Nadile, R. M.; and McKinnon, P. J. “An -Experimental Investigation of Negative Point-plane Corona and Its -Relation to Ball Lightning,” AFCRL-TR-60-354. Bedford, Mass.: Oct. 24, -1960. - -[IX-12] Gold, E. “Thunderbolts: The Electric Phenomena of -Thunderstorms,” _Nature_, Vol. CLXIX (1952), pp. 561–63. - -[IX-13] Kogan-Beletskii, G. I. “The Nature of Ball Lightning,” -_Priroda_, No. 4 (1957), pp. 71–73. (Translated in [IX-8].) - -[IX-14] Schmidt, R. O. “The Kearney Incident,” _Flying Saucers_ -(October 1959), p. 31 ff. - -[IX-15] _UFO Critical Bulletin_, Vol. II, No. 2 (March-April 1958). - -[IX-16] “The Case of the Radioactive UFO,” _Flying Saucers_ (February -1958), p. 30. - -[IX-17] “Electro-magnetic Effects Associated With Unidentified Flying -Objects (UFO’s),” Subcommittee of the National Investigations Committee -on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), Washington, D.C. (June 1960). - -[IX-17a] _Sky and Telescope_, Vol. XXIII (1962), p. 323. - -[IX-18] Michel, A. _The Truth about Flying Saucers._ New York: -Criterion Books, 1956. - -[IX-19] Keyhoe, D. E. _The Flying Saucer Conspiracy._ New York: Henry -Holt & Co., 1955. - -[IX-20] Scully, F. _Behind the Flying Saucers._ New York: Popular -Library, 1951. - -[IX-21] Cramp, L. G. _Space, Gravity and the Flying Saucer._ New York: -British Book Centre, 1955. - - - - -_Chapter_ X - -CONTACT! - - -All fields of human activity have their practical jokers. Elaborate -hoaxes have been perpetrated in music, art, literature, history, -religion, science--and in the world of flying saucers. Although the -motives for such swindles are not always obvious, the trickster is -usually trying to promote a cause, to gain fame and/or prestige, -to make money, to satirize a folly, or just to have some fun at -the public’s expense. Some hoaxes, such as Mark Twain’s petrified -man, produce only harmless amusement. Others, planned as serious -deceptions, can cause long-lasting damage. The celebrated Piltdown -man was fraudulently created from an ape’s jawbone, a stray tooth, -and a few chemical staining agents; it gained fame for the scientists -involved but threw the study of human evolution into a confusion that -lasted more than twenty years, until the forgery was revealed in every -detail[X-1]. - -A few hoaxes live on and on even after they are exposed, apparently -because people enjoy believing in them. The Jersey devil, described as -a fire-breathing monster with huge wings and a long tail, was first -mentioned in the columns of a small-town newspaper in New Jersey -in 1906. Within a few days inhabitants of rural areas all over the -east coast were reporting glimpses of the frightening demon and on -one particular night it allegedly terrified citizens in New Jersey, -Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. The panic finally reached such -heights that some towns closed their factories and theaters. This -fantastic monster was quickly found to be a hoax, the brain child of -the publicity manager for a Philadelphia museum of freaks; his sole -purpose had been to drum up customers for the museum. Nevertheless many -persons rejected this explanation and continued to believe that the -creature really existed. It was reported again in 1926, in 1930, in -1932, and may reappear again at any time. Obviously the Jersey devil, -though admittedly the product of a hoax, has become a permanent part of -the local fauna[X-2]. - -Flying-saucer hoaxes are rarely submitted to the Air Force as bona fide -sightings. Of 1500 UFO reports, only forty-two proved to be deliberate -frauds or the delusions of unstable persons. The hoaxer may give his -tale to the newspapers, to a lecture audience, or even publish it in a -book, but he carefully avoids Air Force scrutiny. His story will not -hold up under close investigation, and he knows it. - - -_Earthlings and Extraterrestrials_ - -The fantasies of the obviously deluded are a problem for the clinician -and will not be discussed in this book. Typical is the case of -“Dr. X” who writes to strangers, inviting them to accompany him on -his next visit to the “Brothers” in space and to “join the side of -righteousness.” Although Dr. X has several times set a date for the -excursion, he has always had to postpone it for some reason. He -himself, he says, has made more than sixty journeys on flying saucers -and mother ships, and has often taken his automobile along--just why he -needed it he does not explain. - -Peculiarly hard to classify are the “contact” reports, in which a -witness affirms that he has had one or more personal encounters with a -spacecraft and that he has communicated with its occupants, who range -in type from ordinary specimens of _Homo sapiens_ to hairy dwarfs and -elephant-faced little men in space suits. He gives a more or less -detailed account of the incident and sometimes offers “proof” in the -form of alleged photographs or fragments of the vehicle. Ostensibly -inspired by religious or humanitarian motives, these “contactees” -wholeheartedly support the theory that flying saucers originate in -worlds beyond the earth. - -In general the contactees tell essentially the same story, with minor -variations: Earthling (the witness) sees a flying saucer; saucer lands. -Extraterrestrial occupant emerges, extends friendly greetings, confides -his wish to help the human race solve its problems, takes Earthling for -a cruise to another planet, brings Earthling back. After promising -to maintain a sort of guardianship over the earth, the visitor says -farewell and flies back to his home planet. - -Although these stories are told in the first person, purportedly as -fact, they perhaps should not be called hoaxes, for they can deceive -only the credulous who want to believe that supermen from other worlds -are hovering near to save our troubled planet. With no suspense, little -characterization, and ludicrously bad science, these naïve accounts are -fiction of such poor quality that they would be rejected by even the -most hard-pressed editor of fantastic tales. Whether from Venus, Mars, -Saturn, or the planets of other solar systems, these gods from the -machine all look just like human beings and either speak the colloquial -language of the contactee or communicate by thought transference. Their -physical appearance, clothing, tastes in food, habits of thought, -and ethical values usually seem indistinguishable from those of the -citizens (whether American, French, or Brazilian) who report the -visitors. - - -_The “Contactees”_ - -One man who supposedly was privileged to make contact with visitors -from space was Daniel Fry who, while strolling in the New Mexico -desert on the evening of July 4, 1950, noticed a flying saucer that -had apparently just landed. When he approached and started to touch -the ship, he suddenly heard a voice speaking in friendly caution: -“Better not touch the hull, pal, it’s still hot.” The voice, he -discovered, belonged to an extraterrestrial being in a mother ship that -was hovering some 900 miles above the earth. The craft on the ground -needed no crew, for it was a “remote-controlled cargo carrier,” sent -down to collect samples of the earth’s atmosphere. Communicating by -mental telepathy, the spaceman revealed that, although he came from a -remote planet, his ancestors had been earthmen who had migrated from -the island of Lemuria in ancient times (see _Chapter_ II). Strangely -enough, although the visitor’s first remark had shown a remarkable -command of contemporary English, he did not know what a roller coaster -was! He took such a fancy to Fry that he invited him to enter the cargo -craft and treated him to a quick flight to New York and back, a round -trip of 4000 miles completed in half an hour![X-3] - -A contactee whose experience offered variations on the basic theme was -Truman Bethurum, a construction worker. According to his story, he -happened to be looking for sea shells in the Nevada desert sometime -before dawn one morning in July 1952 when he encountered a flying -saucer and its friendly crew. The captain was a female, a “queen -among women,” whose attractive costume included a bright-red skirt, -a black-velvet short-sleeved blouse, and a black beret with red -trim[X-4]. Though the grandmother of two, she was so beautiful that -at their first meeting Bethurum was speechless. Obviously trying to -put him at his ease, she smiled and said encouragingly, “Speak up, my -friend, you’re not hexed.” During the following months, he says, they -had several meetings and eventually, at her invitation, he accompanied -her on an enjoyable visit to the saucer’s home base, the planet -“Clarion.” Being placed directly behind the moon and apparently moving -in a parallel orbit, this heavenly body has entirely escaped the notice -of earthly astronomers[X-5]. - -George W. Van Tassel, operator of a commercial airport, resort, and -guest ranch in California (for some reason most of the better-known -contactees seem to be Californians), allegedly made contact with -space beings of a more ethereal type. Their saucers traveled on power -produced by the “transmutation of hard light particles into soft light -particles,” and a typical vehicle was 1500 feet in diameter, 300 feet -thick, and carried a crew of 7200. Why they needed so much room--more -than 70,000 cubic feet per spaceman--remains a mystery, for both the -ship and its occupants were made of pure light. The mother ships -remained thousands of miles above the earth at substations from which -they sent out their “ventlos,” or flying saucers, to patrol the earth -and try to improve conditions here. Speaking through Van Tassel, the -visitors sent many messages such as that of June 28, 1952: - -“Salutations. My identity is Qel, 72nd projection, 15th wave, realms of -Schare [a saucer station in space]. We are passing over your cone of -receptivity, 172 thousand miles above you. Our center requests that I -inform you. You will see more of us if you watch the skies.” - -Several times the spacemen threatened, if opposed, to launch thousands -of saucers per second against the earth. In January 1953 they warned -that they had three substations in space ready to release 500,000 -saucers each; two months later, in March, they informed Van Tassel that -they now had 3½ million saucers in operation around the earth. Somehow -or other, this armada of UFOs seems to have remained invisible to both -the United States Air Force and the public[X-6]. - -Whether such tales are delusions, fantasies, or hoaxes may be -impossible to determine. Some contact cases, however, undoubtedly -contain elements of fraud. At worst, the witness may be deliberately -inventing the whole story from start to finish; at best, he may feel -so certain of the reality of his experience that he feels justified in -manufacturing evidence to convince possible skeptics. No matter what -his motives, when he tries to add verisimilitude to his narrative by -fabricating proofs, he joins the company of hoaxers[X-7]. - -In the Maury Island case (see _Chapter_ II), the witnesses offered -alleged fragments of a disabled spaceship, which turned out to be -chunks of slag. The scoutmaster in Florida exhibited singed hair on his -arm and a scorched cap to prove that he had suffered from the heat rays -of a landed flying saucer (see _Chapter_ VII), and the grain salesman -in Nebraska bolstered his tale of the Saturnian ship by pointing to -shallow cracks in a dry river bed and oil smudges on the grass (see -_Chapter_ IX). - -A contactee who provided “proof” of his story was Howard Menger, who -specialized in describing visits to the moon. In the moon cities, he -said, he met many earth scientists who enjoyed a delightful, relaxed -existence. The lunar natives use no money, are born without appendixes, -and for entertainment play a game very much like baseball. In science -they are way ahead of us: using saucers equipped with “self-contained -gravity” and propelled by “processed free energy,” they transported him -from earth to moon in only two hours[X-8]. As a trophy of his visit, -Menger brought back a lunar potato. This remarkable vegetable was -supposed to have five times the protein content of an ordinary American -potato, but unfortunately it was not available for analysis. As soon -as he returned, he said, he had turned it over to the United States -Government, and the government was keeping it top secret[X-9]. - - -_Adamski’s Travels_ - -Perhaps the best known of the contactees is George Adamski, who on -the night of November 20, 1952, in the desert of Southern California, -supposedly met and talked with the pilot of a vehicle that had just -arrived from Venus. Conversation was no problem; both men simply used -telepathy and sign language when words failed[X-10]. In the years since -then Adamski has reported many other pleasant chats with visitors -from Mars and Saturn as well as Venus, and has allegedly made several -journeys in their spacecraft, including an aerial tour of the moon. -On this trip he observed with surprise that the moon’s hidden side -contained fertile country abounding in lakes, rivers, vegetation, and -prosperous cities with people strolling along the sidewalks[X-11]. He -was not at all disconcerted when the Russian photographs of the moon’s -far side showed no trace of these delightful features. Obviously, -said Adamski, the Russians had simply retouched the pictures before -releasing them to the world, in order to deceive the United States and -to conceal the vegetation, trees, and buildings of the space people who -had their bases there[X-12]. - -[Illustration: _Figure 15._ Top, schematic drawing of Adamski’s -Venusian saucer. Bottom, schematic drawing of chicken brooder.] - -Clearly aware of possible skepticism, Adamski did not ask the public to -accept his experiences on his unsupported word; as evidence, he offered -various photographs showing cigar-shaped objects, a rocky hillside with -a white blob on the horizon, and the drawing of a person apparently -clad in coveralls--without the book’s explanation no one would ever -suspect that he came from the planet Venus. One of the best-known -pictures he published showed a bell-shaped “spaceship” with circular -openings near the top and three large balls on the bottom for landing -gear. By an interesting coincidence, this craft closely resembles a -well-known type of chicken brooder, whose three infrared bulbs at the -base look very much like the “landing gear” of the alleged spacecraft -(see Figure 15). When skeptics doubted Adamski’s claim that he had -traveled from Kansas City, Missouri, to Davenport, Iowa, by flying -saucer, he displayed one of the most unusual items ever called upon -to prove the existence of spaceships: his uncanceled railway ticket, -for which he requested a refund![X-13] - - -_Photography and the UFO_ - -Those who believe in flying saucers have long hoped to obtain a good -clear photograph that would establish their existence once and for all. -Many “UFO” pictures show vague specks and blurs whose interpretation -is limited only by the imagination of the viewer. Of the many pictures -taken in good faith and offered in evidence, none shows an indubitable -spaceship. Most of them are genuine photographs showing indistinct -images of jet planes, birds, balloons, and other objects normally in -the sky. They are puzzling only until they are compared with similar -photographs of known jet planes, birds, balloons, and other normal -objects; then their identity becomes obvious. - -Trick photography has often been called upon to prove the reality of -the incredible--fairies, ectoplasm, ghosts--and it has also played -a part in the history of flying saucers. While the most detailed -contact stories have usually come from the United States, for some -peculiar reason the best of the faked pictures have come from Europe -and South America. A widely publicized photograph supposedly taken -at Taormina, Sicily, in 1954 shows four men standing on a bridge and -apparently gazing at two UFOs soaring overhead [X-14]. The deep shadows -cast by the men and the bridge railing show that the sun was shining -brilliantly, but the objects in the sky, which look like the inverted -covers of teapots or sugar bowls, show only faintly shadowed areas. -Stranger yet, the shady side of one UFO is on the left, that of the -other UFO on the right. The men on the bridge have their heads tilted -at such an angle that they could not possibly have seen the objects -pictured, but are obviously looking at the hill in the background -instead of at the sky. Even a casual inspection exposes this picture as -a crude fake (see Plate VIa). - -An even cruder fake was offered as evidence to Dr. Menzel in South -Africa in the summer of 1962. The optimistic photographer insisted that -he had snapped a genuine saucer on the wing, even though the circular -object shown in the print was an unmistakable hubcap, the Chevrolet -trade-mark clearly legible. - - -_The Isle of Lovers Hoax_ - -Some photographic hoaxes are more cleverly executed. In May 1952, a -few weeks after _Life_ magazine had alarmed the world with its article -“Have We Visitors from Outer Space?”[X-15], the Brazilian weekly -picture magazine _O Cruzeiro_ published startlingly clear photographs -of an alleged flying saucer[X-16]. According to the accompanying story, -a reporter and a photographer on the staff of the magazine on May 7 -had visited Ilha dos Amores, an island not far from Rio de Janeiro, to -do a feature assignment. Late in the afternoon, at a moment when the -photographer just happened to have his camera pointed at the sky, the -reporter suddenly called his attention to a passing UFO. During the -minute or so the object was in view he obtained five pictures which, -along with the reporter’s eyewitness story, were released to the public -on May 17. If the editors actually believed in the reality of the -saucer, the ten-day delay before informing the world of its visit is -remarkable. The magazine has never admitted that the photographs were a -hoax, but they inspired doubt even in sympathetic investigators[X-17]. - -The UFO appears in a dull sky above a mountain peak. In the first -picture the object looks like a jet plane surrounded by an exhaust haze -and, with a little imagination, might be called a Saturn-like object. -In succeeding pictures it resembles the lid of a teapot, or the bottom -view of a rubber stopper for a sink. A study of the shadows quickly -reveals the fraudulent nature of these photographs: the dome on top -of the “saucer” casts its shadow to the right, while the trees and -mountains in the foreground cast their shadows to the left. The picture -could be authentic only in a peculiar world in which the sun shone from -the west on objects on the ground, but shone from the east on objects -flying in the sky! - - -_The Trindade Island Saucer_ - -The most famous of all purported photographs of a UFO, the Trindade -Island saucer, also came from Brazil. First published in Brazilian -newspapers on February 21, 1958, the pictures showed dark mountain -crags looming against an overcast sky. Above one peak appeared a -startling image (much like the _O Cruzeiro_ saucer of 1952) resembling -the planet Saturn--a flattened sphere banded round the middle by a dark -line that extended like a platform beyond the curved sides. According -to the accompanying news stories, the UFO had flown over the island of -Trindade and had been observed by the officers and crew of a ship of -the Brazilian Navy. The pictures, taken by a photographer on board, had -been examined and supposedly pronounced genuine by Navy experts before -being released to the press. Since a responsible military organization -and a major world government thus seemed to accept the photographs -as proof that flying saucers actually existed, the incident raised a -storm of official inquiry both in Brazil and abroad. Then, within a few -weeks, the storm abruptly subsided. Although no explanation was given, -the object in the pictures was obviously considered no threat to our -planet’s security (see Plate VIb). - -Although saucer enthusiasts regard these pictures as genuine evidence -for the reality of UFOs, careful study of the facts strongly suggests -that this case, which rocked the Brazilian Government and created -a short-lived but world-wide saucer scare, was merely an unusually -skillful hoax[X-18]. - -At first glance, the circumstances of the sighting seemed to be -entirely clear and straightforward[X-19]. Trindade is a barren, -mountainous island of about six square miles, about 600 miles from -the coast of Brazil. Abandoned after the end of the Second World -War, the island remained deserted except by sea gulls until October -1957, when the Brazilian Navy established an oceanographic post and -a meteorological station there to carry out its research for the -International Geophysical Year (IGY). To facilitate the oceanographic -studies, the Navy also converted a training ship, the _Almirante -Saldanha_, into a floating laboratory equipped with scientific -apparatus and photographic darkroom. With a crew of about 300, the ship -routinely traveled between Rio de Janeiro and Trindade Island on its -duties for the IGY. - -A major function of the meteorological station was the launching and -tracking of weather balloons; they were painted red, inflated with -hydrogen, and carried radio transmitters. Launched each morning, they -were tracked by radio and optical devices to show the movements of the -winds in the upper atmosphere. At a certain point (when the balloon -burst, or at a prearranged signal) the balloon released a bag of -scientific instruments which, attached to a parachute, floated to the -ground to be retrieved. - -The Trindade station began operation in November 1957. Almost -immediately, UFOs were reported over the island. (Brazil had not been -immune to the flying-saucer epidemic that had begun in Texas early that -month [see _Chapter_ IX], and sentries at Itaipu Fort, near Santos, on -November 4 had reported a UFO that knocked out the lights and electric -plant.) With weather balloons going up daily, parachutes floating down -at odd times, and sea gulls cruising over the island, the advent of -other “saucers” was inevitable. During November and December several -UFOs were reported by workmen, none of whom were trained observers. -Although neither Captain Bacellar, the commanding officer at the -station, nor his officers saw any unidentified objects, he radioed Rio -to report the incidents and investigated each story. Some he found -to be false, some were based on mistaken identification of gulls and -balloons, and in others the evidence was inconclusive. - -Early in January 1958, when the _Almirante Saldanha_ arrived on -schedule at Trindade, it had on board several civilian guests who were -to collaborate in various aspects of the research. Among them was -Almiro Barauna, a professional photographer. After several days at -the island, the ship prepared to leave for the return trip to Rio on -January 16. Shortly after noon Barauna was on deck with his camera, -waiting to film the departure. The sky was thinly overcast, the sea was -rough, and waves dashing against the ship and the rocky shore created a -noisy background. - -According to the news accounts printed several weeks later, Captain -Viegas, of the Brazilian Air Force, suddenly shouted “_Olha o disco!_ -[Flying saucer!]” Hearing the shout, Barauna peered at the sky and saw -a luminous oval object moving swiftly toward the island. Officers and -crewmen on deck also observed the UFO, he said, and interfered with -his aim as they ran about excitedly. Nevertheless he managed to take -six shots of the UFO as it approached the island, disappeared behind a -mountain peak, reversed direction and reappeared at a lower altitude, -retraced its course, and vanished with incredible speed against the -horizon. The unknown had arrived and departed in a period of about -twenty seconds. - -According to the news stories, the photographer had retired to the -ship’s darkroom under the supervision of an officer to develop -the negative, and found that four of the six exposures showed the -mysterious object. He was not able to make prints, he said, because the -darkroom supplies unfortunately did not include any photographic paper. -However, he did exhibit the negative, and the officers and crewmen who -examined it allegedly agreed that it showed the same Saturn-like UFO -that had flown over the island. After the return to Rio he made prints -and enlargements and turned them over, together with the negative, to -the Brazilian Navy. - -The question of authenticity arose immediately. Called down to -Intelligence headquarters for an interview, Barauna underwent a -four-hour interrogation concerning the pictures. During the questioning -he was asked, “If you were going to make a flying saucer appear on -a negative, how would you proceed?” He replied, as he later told a -reporter, “_Comandante_, I am an able photographer, specialized in -trick photography, but I could not produce one that would withstand -close and accurate examination.”[X-18] - -In spite of this modest disclaimer, some of the photographic evidence -clearly suggested fraud, and a strong difference of opinion developed -among government officials. Some accepted the pictures as a genuine -record of a flying saucer; others pronounced them fakes. For several -weeks the incident was kept secret, but when eventually someone took -the prints to the President of Brazil, further concealment became -impossible. Yielding to the persuasion of certain military advisers and -newsmen, and against the advice of the Naval Ministry, he released the -pictures to the press. - -[Illustration: PLATE V - -_a._ Pinched lightning, August 1961. This is believed to be the first -photograph of a pinched lightning discharge. (CHAP. IX)] - -[Illustration: PLATE V - -_b._ Ball lightning, Lincoln, Nebraska, August 30, 1930. (CHAP. IX)] - -[Illustration: PLATE VI - -_a._ Trindade Island UFO, January 1958. (CHAP. X)] - -[Illustration: PLATE VI - -_b._ Taormina, Sicily, UFOs, 1954. (CHAP. X)] - -[Illustration: PLATE VII - -_a._ UFO at Boulder, Colorado, February 6, 1959. (CHAP. XII)] - -[Illustration: PLATE VII - -_b._ UFO over Norway, July 24, 1957. (CHAP. XII)] - -[Illustration: PLATE VIII - -_a._ Images produced by lens defects, Hamilton, Ohio, steel plant. -(CHAP. XI)] - -[Illustration: PLATE VIII - -_b._ Ghost images produced by internal reflections in lens system. -(CHAP. XII)] - - -_The Brazilian Naval Ministry_ - -The photographs were published on February 21, five weeks after they -were taken. Since the President had apparently accepted them at face -value, the Naval Ministry was obviously in a difficult position; -through an unofficial spokesman it issued a statement notable for its -lack of enthusiasm: - -“On the morning of January 16, 1958, over the island of Trindade, the -crew of the school ship _Almirante Saldanha_ sighted an unidentified -aerial object for a few seconds. A civilian who was aboard the ship -took some pictures of the object. The Navy has no connection with the -case, and its only connection with the occurrence was the fact that the -photographer was aboard the school ship, and came back with the ship to -Rio.”[X-20] - -On the same day another Navy spokesman released a similar unofficial -statement to _O Globo_: - -“The news about a flying saucer sighted over the Island of Trindade -was received here with utmost reserve. There will be an investigation -to verify the authenticity of the sightings and photos. No officer or -sailor from the N.E. _Almirante Saldanha_ witnessed the event.”[X-20] - -Immediately an international furor broke out. Were these pictures -indeed proof of extraterrestrial spaceships, or were they a hoax, with -the Brazilian President and the Brazilian Navy as victims? Who were -the witnesses, and exactly what did they report? In the United States, -high officials asked for copies of the pictures. An editor of _Look_ -magazine asked Dr. Menzel to fly to Brazil to evaluate the evidence, -but later canceled the plan when the Rio office advised that the -photographs were generally considered fraudulent. Public excitement in -Brazil became so great that on February 23 the Naval Ministry released -an official statement, distinguished by its air of caution, which -concluded: - -“Clearly this Ministry will not be able to make any pronouncement -concerning the reality of the object seen because the photographs do -not constitute sufficient proof for this purpose.”[X-18] - -The day after the pictures were published the _Almirante Saldanha_, -which had been lying outside the harbor at Rio, received orders to -sail. Not until February 24, when the ship docked at Santos, did -newsmen have a chance to interview the officers and crewmen who -allegedly had observed the Trindade saucer and could support Barauna’s -story. None of them, it turned out, had actually seen the object. - -The Assistant Naval Attaché of the United States, who was then in -Santos in connection with the visit of the U. S. Coast Guard cutter -_Westwind_, visited the Brazilian ship to collect information about -the Trindade saucer, but with little success. The commanding officer -stated that he had not seen the alleged UFO; he had seen the pictures -but refused to express an opinion on their authenticity; he stated -that his secretary might have seen the UFO but the secretary, when -questioned, preferred not to discuss the matter. The executive officer -said that he had not been on deck at the time of the sighting, but that -other persons might have seen the object. - -During the next week arguments for and against the authenticity of -the photographs filled the Brazilian papers, and _O Globo_ published -deliberately faked views of a “flying saucer”--a china plate tossed -into the air. A federal deputy in an official note to the Naval -Ministry deplored their amazing failure to procure sworn statements -from the officers and crewmen who were reported to have witnessed the -UFO. - -In spite of the widespread and increasing skepticism, the weekly -magazine _O Cruzeiro_ used the Trindade pictures for its lead story in -the issue of March 8. “Once bitten, twice shy” apparently did not apply -to its editors, who seemed instead to adopt the principle, “In for a -penny, in for a pound.” The photographs, they remarked editorially, not -only proved the existence of flying saucers, they also established the -authenticity of the Ilha dos Amores pictures published several years -earlier. As though to emphasize this point, the magazine assigned the -Trindade story and the interviews with witnesses to the same staff -reporter who had described the Ilha dos Amores saucer in 1952. The -Naval Ministry refrained from further comment and, since the military -authorities showed no alarm about the possibility of extraterrestrial -patrols, public interest in the pictures quickly died. - -The report sent home by the U. S. Naval Attaché included the comment: - -“There appear to be only two explanations for this peculiar incident, -and the peculiar handling of it by the Brazilian Government: (a) Some -overwhelming power has told the Brazilian Navy not to verify this -incident officially (which they should easily be able to do, if it -actually occurred) or to deny it (which they should easily be able to -do if it is a fake). I personally do not believe that anyone has told -the Brazilian Navy to keep quiet about it because there has been no -hint of such suppression in either Brazilian or United States circles. -I also doubt that their control of the individual officers and men -would be good enough to hold the line in any event. (b) The whole thing -is a fake publicity stunt.... This seems more likely....”[X-18] - - -_The Icarai Submarine Hunting Club_ - -The accounts originally printed in the Brazilian papers and in _O -Cruzeiro_ contain a number of significant details that have been -glossed over or ignored by UFO enthusiasts, both in Brazil[X-19] and -in the United States[X-21], who apparently accept the Trindade saucer -at face value. A study of the available news stories, facts gathered -by Intelligence officers, and of the photographs themselves leads -inescapably to the conclusion that the Trindade Island photographs were -almost certainly a hoax. - -Almiro Barauna was a free-lance photographer. A professional of unusual -skill, he had long been interested in flying saucers and, some time -before the Trindade incident, he had published a purposely humorous -magazine article entitled “A Flying Saucer Hunted Me at Home” and -illustrated by admittedly faked photographs. He had also published -trick photographs of “treasure chests” lying on the ocean bottom. In -addition, Barauna specialized in underwater photography and was a -member of the Icarai Submarine Hunting Club, a group interested in skin -diving and the study of life on the ocean floor. - -When the _Almirante Saldanha_ left Rio for its historic January visit -to Trindade Island, the ship had on board, as guests of the Navy, five -members of the Icarai Club. Among the five, in addition to Barauna, -were Amilar Vieira Filho, captain of the group, and José Teobaldo -Viegas, a retired captain in the Brazilian Air Force[X-22]. On January -16 when the ship was getting ready to leave Trindade, these three -friends were on deck, Barauna with his loaded Rolleiflex camera, the -other two standing some distance away. Suddenly Vieira remarked on -a big sea gull in the sky. Looking up, Viegas immediately shouted, -“Flying saucer!” and Barauna snapped his pictures. - -No other eyewitnesses have been found, even though the deck was -crowded with sailors. The ship’s dentist has been listed as a witness -(in one document he appears as two persons, under two different -versions of his name) but no newspaper yet examined mentions his story. -Captain Bacellar, returning from his post as commander of the Trindade -station, has also been listed as a witness but, according to his -statement, he was not on deck when the incident occurred. - -Vieira, the first man to sight the object, had called it “a big sea -gull.” When interviewed five weeks later, in the midst of the saucer -excitement, he had changed his mind about its being a sea gull, but he -was no longer certain just what he had seen. He stated that the unknown -had been in view for twenty seconds at most, and had disappeared too -quickly for him to note any details; it was simply an oval gray object -that seemed to flash briefly before it vanished. He did not mention the -Saturn-like bands around the middle that are a conspicuous feature of -the photograph. - - -_The Trindade Photographs_ - -Accounts of the Trindade affair often remark that the photographs -must be genuine because no opportunity for fraud occurred. On the -contrary, there were ample and repeated opportunities. Since Barauna -was not under observation when he loaded his camera, he could easily -have inserted a prepared film, with no one the wiser. With the type of -camera used, the operation would have been simple. He was again free -from observation when he developed the negatives. Captain Bacellar -escorted him to the door of the darkroom but remained outside, on guard -at the door. The only person to accompany Barauna inside (to help by -holding a flashlight) was his friend Viegas--the same man who had cried -“Flying saucer!” - -When Barauna emerged with the dripping film, Bacellar examined it but -what he expected to find is a question, since he had not observed the -UFO. The witnesses allegedly agreed, however, that the negatives showed -the object they had seen in the sky--an amazing feat when we remember -that the Rolleiflex film frame is small, only about 2.25 inches square. - -In the print of Frame 3 shown in _O Cruzeiro_[X-22], the UFO is -slightly more than ¼ inch long and less than ⅛ inch thick. Assuming an -enlargement factor of a little more than three, we find that the UFO on -the negative would have appeared merely as a pale blur about 1/16 of an -inch in length and no thicker than a pencil line. Miraculous eyesight -would have been required to distinguish a “Saturn-like” or any other -shape. - -The Navy’s officers on board showed astonishingly little interest in -the film and did nothing to prevent the possibility of fraud. All -during the homeward trip the photographer had both the camera and the -negative in his own possession. When the ship stopped at Santos, he -and his fellow club members were allowed to debark (with camera and -negative), and they completed the journey to Rio by bus. The ship had -been anchored at Rio for two days before Captain Bacellar, of the -Trindade station, finally called on Barauna and asked to see the prints -so that he could show them to the Navy. Thus the photographer had been -free of supervision for days. In that time he could have produced -pictures of little men from Mars, if he had wanted to. - -The pictures themselves raise many questions. The three witnesses had -emphasized the brilliance of the UFO, yet the prints show merely a gray -shape with no suggestion of luminosity. Barauna had used a Rolleiflex -camera, 2.8 Model E, f/8 lens, set at 125. Finding that he had -overexposed the film, he said, he had treated the negative with silver -salts after development in order to increase the contrast. (During this -procedure he was, again, without official supervision.) - -The prints used in _O Cruzeiro_ have obviously been cropped since, -unlike the film frames, they are not square. Frame 1 shows the UFO -above the sea, some distance from the island; Frame 2 shows the -UFO above rocky crags, at the right of a peak. Frame 3 shows it at -the right of the peak but at lower altitude. Frames 4 and 5, not -reproduced, did not show the object, and in Frame 6 the UFO is a mere -speck low on the horizon. - -Frame 3, the only one showing the Saturn-like shape, deserves special -attention. In the published print the mountains in the foreground are -quite clear, while the UFO is little more than a dark line with an -indistinct beginning and end, with a faint suggestion of rounding at -top and bottom; without the dark line the curves would scarcely be -visible, so completely does the object merge into the background of -overcast sky. The picture widely distributed by news agencies is a -further enlargement of the section containing the UFO. In the enlarged -section, the foreground rocks are a mere black blur, but the UFO has -gained greatly in clarity. The central band is darker, particularly at -the left, and the outlines of the object are no longer vague. - -The Navy’s study of the negatives revealed several dubious features. -The details of the land in the foreground were very sharp but the UFO -disk was hazy, showed little contrast, and was essentially without -shadows. The object in Frame 2 seemed to have been inverted, as -compared with Frames 1 and 3. From the reported high velocity of the -saucer and the fast shutter speed, some lateral haziness might have -been expected, but no such blurring appeared. - -Exactly when and how the fraudulent images were produced--if they were -fraudulent--cannot be known. Experienced photographers can easily think -of a dozen possible devices. The probability that they were faked is -overwhelming and, but for the embarrassing fact that the Brazilian -President had seemed to sponsor them publicly, the Naval Ministry would -undoubtedly have exposed the entire hoax. - -In summary, the facts are these: The man who made the Trindade pictures -had no connection with the Brazilian Navy; he was a professional -photographer noted particularly as an expert at trick photography. No -officer or crewman of the Brazilian Navy reported seeing the UFO; in -addition to the photographer, only two persons are on record as actual -eyewitnesses; both of them were personal friends of the photographer; -neither of them had any connection with the Brazilian Navy. The -photographer had ample time and many opportunities to fake the -pictures. A Rolleiflex camera can easily be used for double exposures. -A series of pictures of a model saucer against a dark background could -be rerolled and exposed a second time to provide the background, an -old and well-known photographic trick. The pictures themselves show -internal inconsistencies. The Brazilian Naval Ministry never accepted -the pictures as authentic records of a flying saucer.[C] - -[C] During a visit to Rio de Janeiro in February 1963, Dr. Menzel -discussed this case with some of Brazil’s leading astronomers; they -concurred in the view that the Trindade saucer was a hoax. - -The final paragraph from a United States Intelligence report provides -perhaps the most appropriate comment on the affair: - -“It is the reporting officer’s private opinion that a flying saucer -sighting would be unlikely at the very barren island of Trindade, since -everyone knows that Martians are extremely comfort-loving creatures.” - - -_Project Ozma_ - -Astronomers have found no evidence suggesting that intelligent life -exists on any of earth’s sister planets. Most scientists would agree, -however, that life of some kind probably does exist in other parts -of our galaxy and in other galaxies. Even if this probability were -certainty and space travel were possible over the vast distances we -measure in light years, the chance that earthman and alien will ever -establish physical contact remains infinitesimally small. An explorer -(whether from earth or from a planet of another sun) would have to -begin by locating, among the millions of stars in the heavens, a -particular star that had a family of life-bearing planets. If he were -able to identify one of these needles in the cosmic haystack, he -would next have to find out which of the planets supported living, -intelligent organisms. If he could find the planet and set down his -spaceship, the explorer would then have to try to identify and to -communicate with creatures that might be unimaginably strange--so -strange that he would not recognize them as either living or -intelligent. - -At present, only light waves and radio waves can bridge the immensities -of space. Physical travel to other star systems is not now and may -never be possible. Nevertheless, men are making attempts to find out -whether other intelligent beings do exist outside the solar system -and, if so, where. The earliest effort, known as Project Ozma, started -a few years ago at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory at Green -Bank, West Virginia. As the first step in a systematic search, the -astronomers began to listen for possible radio signals from the -neighborhood of certain stars. Tau Ceti, Epsilon Eridani, and 61 Cygni -were chosen as the first targets because they lie within range of our -radio telescopes--ten to eleven light years distant--and because they -resemble our own sun in age and type and therefore might have planetary -systems not unlike our own. So far, the radio telescopes have detected -no phenomena that might be interpreted as artificial signals. - -The problems involved are incredibly difficult. A background of radio -noise--“swishes,” “whistles,” “tweeks”--comes in constantly from the -universe at large. Deliberate signals, if they occurred, would be hard -to distinguish from the random noise. Even if signals came in and -were detected, they might still be indecipherable just as the written -records of some early civilizations on our own planet remain a mystery. -Egyptian hieroglyphs were meaningless pictures for millennia until -the Rosetta stone provided the key, less than 200 years ago. The many -pages of text and pictures left by the Mayan Indians cannot yet be -read, except for some dates and a few astronomical symbols. Hundreds -of inscriptions exist in the Etruscan language, written in an alphabet -that resembles the familiar Greek, but scholars have deciphered only a -few words. - -If we are not able to interpret the records devised and set down by -human beings like ourselves, we will not easily understand signals that -might possibly be broadcast by aliens from the planets of other suns. - -[X-1] Wiener, J. S. _The Piltdown Forgery._ London: Oxford Univ. Press, -1955. - -[X-2] MacDougall, C. D. _Hoaxes._ New York: Ace Books, 1958. - -[X-3] Fry, D. W. _The White Sands Incident._ Los Angeles: New Age Publ. -Co., 1954. - -[X-4] Redondo Beach (Calif.) _Daily Breeze_, September 25, 1953. - -[X-5] Bethurum, T. _Aboard a Flying Saucer._ Los Angeles: De Vorss & -Co., 1954. - -[X-6] Van Tassel, G. W. _I Rode a Flying Saucer._ Los Angeles: New Age -Publ. Co., 1952. - -[X-7] Cahn, J. P. “Flying Saucers and the Mysterious Little Men,” -_True_ magazine (September 1952). - -[X-8] Menger, H. _From Outer Space To You._ Clarksburg, West Virginia: -Saucerian Publications, 1959. - -[X-9] Peterborough (N.H.) _Transcript_, Oct. 30, 1958. - -[X-10] Leslie, D., and Adamski, G. _Flying Saucers Have Landed._ New -York: British Book Centre, 1953. - -[X-11] Adamski, G. _Inside the Space Ships._ Abelard-Schuman, 1955. - -[X-12] ---- _Flying Saucers, Farewell._ Abelard-Schuman, 1961. - -[X-13] _UFO Investigator_ (June 1959). - -[X-14] Michel, A. _The Truth about Flying Saucers._ New York: Criterion -Books, 1956. - -[X-15] “Have We Visitors from Outer Space?” _Life_ magazine (April 4, -1952). - -[X-16] Rio de Janeiro: _O Cruzeiro_, May 17, 1952. - -[X-17] Civilian Saucer Investigations _Quarterly Bulletin_ (September -1952). - -[X-18] Air Force Files. - -[X-19] _UFO Critical Bulletin_ (March-April 1958). - -[X-20] Fontes, O. T. “The Brazilian Navy UFO Sighting at the Island of -Trindade,” _Flying Saucers_ (February 1961), p. 27 ff. - -[X-21] Maney, C. A., and Hall, R. _The Challenge of Unidentified Flying -Objects._ Washington, D.C., 1961. - -[X-22] Rio de Janeiro: _O Cruzeiro_, March 8, 1958. - - - - -_Chapter_ XI - -ANGEL HAIR, PANCAKES, ETC. - - -If thousands of aircraft from other planets have indeed been patrolling -the earth for many years (according to some authors, for centuries), -they have achieved an incredibly perfect safety record. Disabled or -wrecked flying saucers have occasionally been reported, but the debris -and bodies to be expected from such incidents have never been located. - -A “mummified man,” sometimes referred to as proof of such a -catastrophe, may be seen at Caspar, Wyoming. Found in the Rocky -Mountains in the autumn of 1932, this little creature measures 6½ -inches high in a sitting position and weighs three-quarters of a pound. -Paleontologists recognize it as _Hesperopithecus_, an anthropoid -denizen of earth during the Pliocene period. The mummified body of -another such creature, supposedly found in Arizona, has also been -called the remains of “a little green man.”[XI-1] In 1952 four -spaceships were supposed to have crashed in the deserts of New Mexico -and Arizona, carrying the bodies of thirty-four “little men”[XI-2], -but the only evidence offered for this disaster was a chunk of -“unknown metal” that proved to be ordinary aluminum, and the entire -drama was shown to be the work of a known hoaxer[XI-3]. Although a -few flying-saucer organizations regard such “humanoid” evidence with -some doubt, others, such as the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization -(APRO) are less skeptical of the reality of “little men.”[XI-4] - -UFO publications have reported the finding of various substances -alleged to have been produced by UFOs. The offices of Air Force -investigators at Dayton house a small museum of such “pieces of -saucers”--old batteries, meteorites, parts of primitive radios, rocks, -corroded lead pipe, tangles of wire, strips of tin foil. Although -a few of these specimens have been sent in by optimistic hoaxers, -most of them have been submitted by genuinely puzzled citizens. When -analysis shows the normal origin of such an object, the finder usually -accepts the verdict calmly, whether he is disappointed or relieved, -but occasionally he rejects the identification and indignantly accuses -the Air Force of theft, substitution, or plain lying to suppress the -“truth.” Nevertheless, not a single fragment studied so far--animal, -vegetable, or mineral--shows any evidence that it grew or was -constructed on an alien world. - - -_Angel Hair and Spiders_ - -Some centuries ago the primitive inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands, -observing the feathery, hairlike threads of volcanic glass left on -the ground from ancient eruptions, accounted for the substance by -the legend that the goddess Pelee had once stopped somewhere in the -neighborhood to comb her hair. “Angel hair,” a term in UFO parlance -used to describe any unfamiliar fibers, strands, threads, liquids, -granules, and powders found on the earth and supposedly deposited from -flying saucers, offers an interesting analogy. - -_Fils de la Vierge_--the hair of the Virgin Mary--is the usual French -phrase for gossamer or cobwebs, whose origin was long a mystery. -Similarly the English “gossamer” commonly means cobwebs. According to -one source, the word may be derived from _gaze à Marie_--the gauze of -Mary. According to legend, cobwebs were formed from threads that fell -from the shroud of the Virgin Mary on her Assumption. UFO enthusiasts -in France began to use _fils de la Vierge_ in 1952, to describe the -cobwebby material that allegedly fell from flying saucers. Translators -of the French UFO publications, instead of using the English equivalent -“gossamer” or “cobwebs,” chose to create the new term “angel hair” -which, unlike the French, implies an entirely strange substance, one -that has no apparent connection with such ordinary earthly phenomena as -spiders. - -Two remarkable falls of angel hair were reported in France on October -17 and 27, 1952. In both incidents, witnesses observed in the sky a -strangely shaped, cottony cloud at a height of several thousand feet. -Above it was a long, narrow, cylindrical object trailed by a white -plume, moving slowly across the sky and accompanied by twenty or thirty -smaller objects that looked like puffs of smoke. Following a broken -path, they made rapid zigzag motions, and left a broad ribbon of -white substance that slowly drifted to the ground and clung to trees, -telephone wires, and roofs of houses. These masses of white threads -were described as like wool, nylon, or Fiberglas. When rolled into a -ball they became gelatinous and disappeared within a few hours; set on -fire, they burned like cellophane. - -One witness was able to disentangle a single strand more than ten yards -long. None of the material, unfortunately, was preserved for study. - -Students of UFOs pondered the unusual phenomenon: “If the observers -really did see what they described, and if all these objects were -machines guided by a single intelligence, then what mysterious -experiment were they performing? What purpose was served by the strange -ballet of paired saucers? What was the meaning of the whitish streak -appearing between two saucers on separation? What, finally, was the -‘angel’s hair’ that sublimed so readily in the air?”[XI-5, p. 150] -UFO enthusiasts have suggested various theories of the nature and -origin of the mysterious substance. According to one hypothesis[XI-5, -p. 149], angel hair might be produced in the wake of a spacecraft -moving in a force field; ionization of the atmosphere would produce -ultraheavy particles which would react with ordinary air to form a -kind of precipitate-angel hair--which would disintegrate as ionization -decreased (see _Chapter_ IX). Another theory suggests that angel hair -might be a chain polymer of cellulose containing radioactive carbon 14 -(the carbon 14 being produced by the action of cosmic rays on atoms -of nitrogen in the atmosphere), hydrogen, and oxygen from moisture in -the air, the three elements combining under the action of ultraheavy -particles produced by ionization[XI-6]. This theory overlooks the fact -that cellulose is not formed from a combination of carbon dioxide, -oxygen, and hydrogen in air. Rather, it is made by living organisms in -a series of complicated enzymic reactions. Even if cellulose could be -made by the hypothetical reaction suggested, it would contain no more -carbon 14 than does the ordinary carbon dioxide in the air. - -To French entomologists, the angel hair seen in October 1952, was -no mystery at all. The objects dancing the strange ballet were not -spaceships, but spiders. Far from performing a mysterious experiment, -they were merely carrying out the well-established routine of migration. - -Each year the young spiders of most species leave the nests of their -infancy and prepare to establish their own homes. Crawling by the -hundreds or the thousands to the tops of fence posts, walls, or trees, -they spin long silken webs which, inflated by the air, carry the tiny -emigrants up from the ground. These gossamer parachutes drift up and -along on rising air currents, sometimes to great heights; they may -soar for a few yards or for many miles over hills and valleys. These -migrating balloonists have been observed as high as 14,000 feet, and -at sea 200 miles from any land. Eventually drifting back to earth, -the spiders detach the now useless parachutes and move off to build -new nests for the coming year, while the abandoned gossamer may pile -up in great masses on trees, fences, telephone wires, and ground, to -decay and vanish in a matter of hours. These gossamer showers sometimes -include so many outworn webs that the filmy blankets of fine silk may -be several inches deep and may cover an entire landscape like snow. - -These migrations occur in spring or, more frequently, in autumn--but -only when the weather is exactly right. Spiders may sit patiently for -days, waiting for a calm, clear, windless day. On such days the steady -upward currents of air from the sun-warmed ground carry the spiders -gently aloft[XI-7]. The association of angel hair with UFO sightings is -completely natural. The drifting patches of gossamer reflect the sun -brilliantly. A whole armada of saucers can appear overhead and then -vanish as the gossamer cascades to earth. - -The description of the material and the date of the fall both indicate -that the angel hair observed in France in October 1952 was of arachnid -origin. Even the weather was exactly right--“superb, with a sky of -cloudless blue”--for the migration of a smother of spiders. - -A similar fall of angel hair occurred in the United States on October -22, 1954, near a school in Marysville, Ohio. At afternoon recess the -pupils of the Jerome Elementary School noticed a dazzlingly bright -object in the sky. It disappeared, and for the next forty-five minutes -both children and teachers watched white, cottonlike tufts floating -slowly down to the ground. The material was in long strands, very fine -and soft, could be stretched and rolled into a tiny ball, but quickly -vanished to nothing and left a green stain on the hands. The stuff clung -to grass and cars, draped the telephone wires for a distance of three -miles, and was like a misty canopy over the road[XI-6]. - -Unfortunately none of the material was preserved and no analysis was -possible. Marysville is near Columbus, Ohio, an industrial center, -and the stuff might have been waste products from one of the many -factories. Since similar falls were reported in Indiana during the same -period, the substance more probably was gossamer. As in the French -incidents, the time was late October and the weather was perfect, a -warm autumn day with a sunny, cloudless sky. Both the time and the -weather were ideal for migrating spiders to take to the air, float down -to earth on their fluffy parachutes, and then discard the no longer -necessary _fils de la Vierge_. - -Many falls of angel hair that occur in the warm days of Indian -summer are probably abandoned gossamer. It is significant that of -fourteen such incidents reported in Europe and the United States, all -but three took place in October and November, the season of spider -migration[XI-6]. In one of the three incidents reported in other months -(Horseheads, New York, February 21, 1955) the angel hair was identified -as waste products from the local milk plant. - -One of the most recent reports of angel hair came from Sebree, -Kentucky, on September 11, 1962, when state police and the local Civil -Defense director were called in to investigate a strange substance that -looked like spun glass, which had been floating down near the residence -of Mr. Y in great quantities for more than an hour. The Air Force, when -called for advice, suggested three possibilities: the material might -be chemicals used in cloud seeding, might be refuse from a defective -filter in a chemical or industrial plant, or might be gossamer formed -by migrating spiders. The first two possibilities were quickly ruled -out. The witnesses, when requestioned, remembered that they had indeed -noticed spiders clinging to several bits of the material they had -picked up. The troopers’ report concluded, “It is the belief of this -unit the substance observed was gossamer formed by huge quantities of -migrating spiders moving, which is normal for this season.” - -The yearly migration of spiders and sloughing of gossamer is an -established fact. As an explanation of angel hair it is far less -fantastic than a still-hypothetical cruising spaceship. - - -_Other Varieties of Angel Hair_ - -Several types of angel hair not of arachnid origin have been reported -in industrial areas, particularly in and near cities that have textile -factories. When the filtering system of such a factory fails to work -properly, lint and waste residues may be thrown into the air to be -carried away by the wind and eventually deposited on the ground. -Drifting fibers of nylon, rayon, and other fabrics can mystify an -observer, especially if the residues break and disappear when touched. -Some cities, such as Cincinnati, maintain an Air Pollution Center to -deal with the problems resulting from air contamination by industrial -wastes. Scientists at this and other centers often collaborate with -ATIC in identifying unknown substances reported in connection with UFOs. - -Late in the afternoon of September 25, 1956, a housewife in Cincinnati -noticed a strange substance floating down into her yard, a white, -fibrous material that curled when she touched it. Wondering if she -had found some angel hair, she described the incident to the editors -of _Orbit_, a saucer publication; in addition, she collected some of -the material in a jar and sent it to the Air Force for analysis[XI-8]. -Working in collaboration with the Air Pollution Center at Cincinnati, -ATIC investigators subjected the material to chemical and microscopic -tests and identified it as waste products from fibers of cuprammonium -(Bemberg) rayon, from a local industrial plant[XI-9]. - -The possible varieties of angel hair increase with the development of -new technologies. During March and April 1959, the Air Force received -many reports that flying saucers were cruising over the mountains near -Coburn, Virginia, regularly used a landing strip on an inaccessible -peak of Sheep Rock Mountain, and frequently dropped angel hair on -the nearby countryside. The investigating officer collected some of -the material and identified it as a type of “window,” the rolls or -long strips of aluminum foil used by the military in World War II to -produce spurious radar echoes and confuse enemy anti-aircraft fire. The -Coburn angel hair was identical with the foil used by Air Force planes -carrying out experiments in the area. “Window” falls very slowly; -dropped from a height of 40,000 feet, it may easily be visible for -some time to ground observers, as well as interfere with local radar -reception[XI-10]. - -A similar angel-hair incident was reported on November 23, 1960, -when many residents in southern Michigan and the Midwest reported a -mysterious, glowing white object in the eastern sky that was dropping -strange material to the earth. Witnesses described the object variously -as a comet, a satellite with a tail, or a saucer-shaped UFO. The -angel hair was quickly identified as foil dropped by planes that were -conducting a test of radar reception[XI-11]. - -Reports of angel hair still come in occasionally to ATIC and, if -the explanation is not immediately obvious, are investigated. On -the afternoon of October 12, 1959, officials at Robins Air Force -Base, Georgia, received a telephone call stating that unidentified -substances were falling from unknown objects in the sky near the town -of Washington. Two Air Force investigators arrived in the town before -evening to interview the witnesses and examine the material. - -The first sighting had occurred shortly before noon, when a farm woman -noticed an object in the sky, traveling not particularly fast from -southeast to west. A stream of peculiar-looking substance, broad as the -vapor trail of a jet plane, was trailing behind and floating toward the -earth. The object itself was “as large as a football,” brown or black -in color, and maintained a perfectly straight, even course. A few hours -later in a town a few miles northeast, a man mowing his lawn noticed on -the grass two whitish-gray streaks about ten feet long and eight inches -wide, extending from east to west. Deciding that the peculiar streaks -were a fungus or a mold, he mowed across them; at once a gray dust rose -about twenty inches into the air and then settled back to earth. - -The Air Force investigators took samples of the dusty earth and grass -for analysis. Chemical tests showed the presence of silver iodide. -Finding silver in such an unlikely place posed a problem, but it -also pointed the way to a solution. Silver iodide and other silver -halides are used in cloud seeding to produce rain; long “plumes” of -this material, ejected from planes, have been successfully tracked in -mountainous country for distances of thirty-five miles downwind. A -few questions in the right places produced the answer: research teams -from the University of Georgia at Athens and from the Lockheed plant -at Marietta had been in the air that day, carrying out experiments -in cloud seeding. The angel hair was the silver iodide used in the -experiment[XI-10]. - -Angel hair of less mysterious origin has now found its way into the -culinary world. The restaurant of the Hotel Bristol in Córdoba, -Argentina, offers “Angel-hair soup,” very fine threadlike spaghetti in -chicken broth. - - -_The Wisconsin Pancakes_ - -Of the many substances offered the public as proof of extraterrestrial -visitors, probably few have evoked more publicity than the Wisconsin -pancakes. According to a plumber named Joe Simonton, of Eagle River, -Wisconsin, a flying saucer with three peculiarly dressed occupants -appeared in his yard on April 18, 1961, and hovered a few feet above -the ground. When one of the saucermen indicated by sign language that -he was thirsty and held out a two-handled jug, Simonton obligingly -filled it with well water and handed it back. Looking through the open -hatchway, he saw another spaceman cooking something on a kind of grill. -When the spaceman noticed the terrestrial’s interest, he presented him -with three “pancakes” from the grill--thin, oblong, greasy, rubbery -pastries perforated by small round holes and smelling strongly of -goose grease. The saucer then departed. Although Simonton’s curiosity -apparently stopped short of tasting these gifts, he took them to a -friend of his in Eagle River, a county judge and a member in good -standing of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena -(NICAP)[XI-12]. - -Eager to learn whether the flapjacks came from this world or another, -the judge promptly mailed one of them to NICAP headquarters in -Washington, D.C., explained its history and requested an analysis. At -the same time he gave the story, as far as it went, to the newspapers. -After two weeks of anxious waiting, on May 7 he again wrote to NICAP, -protesting their failure to acknowledge his parcel and demanding either -an analysis or the pancake. This time he received a prompt reply: -NICAP deplored the publicity involving the organization with such a -fantastic-sounding claim, but agreed to send the stuff to a chemist. - -Meanwhile time was passing and pancakes, at least terrestrial ones, -don’t last forever. Without waiting for the report from the chemist -the judge submitted one of the remaining pancakes to Air Force -investigators of UFOs. On May 25--the cakes were now more than a -month old--he wrote a third letter, excoriating NICAP for its lack of -enthusiasm over the evidence, and sent a carbon copy to Ray Palmer, -editor of _Flying Saucers_, who in the early days of UFOs had been -their staunch proponent (see _Chapter_ II). The magazine promptly -published the letter, with comments, as well as an editorial that -solemnly reproached NICAP for its attitude toward contactee stories in -general[XI-13]. - -If the magazine and the judge had planned the entire episode -deliberately to embarrass NICAP, they could not have timed it better. -Busy trying to promote a Congressional hearing on flying saucers, NICAP -apparently had no time, facilities, or inclination to investigate -flapjacks of such dubious origin. Interrupted by phone calls, besieged -by reporters, and generally harassed, NICAP mailed the cake to an Ohio -physics professor, a member of the organization, in the hope that he -could induce his colleague in the chemistry department to analyze the -cake. Since the chemistry professor was ill, the physics professor -returned the specimen to headquarters in Washington. Old and tired as -it must have been by this time, the cake then was dispatched to New -York to another NICAP member, a chemist, who began some preliminary -tests. - -Sometime during these weeks the Air Force announced the results of -its analysis. The pancakes consisted of starch, fat, buckwheat hulls, -soybean hulls, wheat bran, and other common substances; bacteriological -and radiation readings were normal[XI-14]. Obviously the specimen -had been an ordinary pancake fried on earth--or else the spacemen’s -home planet produced grains that are indistinguishable from those -flourishing on earth. - -NICAP, however, had the last word. Preliminary tests by their chemist -had shown that the cakes contained a common type of hydrogenated -oil shortening that melted at body temperature. Further tests were -temporarily delayed because of the expense. However, NICAP assured the -judge, the tests would be completed sometime, and any fragments left -over would be saved and returned![XI-15] - - -_The Moon Bridge_ - -On the evening of July 29, 1953, Mr. J. J. O’Neill, a science reporter -for the New York _Herald Tribune_, was looking at the moon through his -small telescope when he saw what he believed to be a shaft of light -shining from the mountainous ridge above the Mare Crisium crater and -fanning out into the shadowed area of the crater wall. According to his -interpretation, the light was coming from underneath a new structure, a -gigantic natural bridge twelve to twenty miles long that arched over a -gap in the mountainous rim. This region of the moon had been thoroughly -studied and mapped during the previous century and no such feature had -ever been noticed. The sudden appearance of so spectacular an object, -if true, would indeed require explanation. Alerted by news reports of -the moon bridge, a British amateur astronomer, H. P. Wilkins, reported -a few weeks later that he, too, could see the mysterious arch through -his telescope (see Figure 16). - -To saucer enthusiasts these reports constituted proof that the moon was -inhabited. Since Nature alone could not have formed such an arch in so -short a time, they argued, the bridge must be artificial. The structure -might have been built by creatures living on the moon, perhaps in -enormous underground cities. These beings might be native Selenites, -or they might be colonists from Mars or from planets belonging to -another solar system who were using the moon as a base for their -spaceships[XI-16]. - -[Illustration: _Figure 16._ The “Moon Bridge.” A, Just before sunset -light fans out from beneath “arch”; B, the fan narrows as sun sinks -lower; C, fan begins to disappear as sun sets below horizon. (Based on -sketches by the late H. P. Wilkins.)] - -Professional astronomers, queried about the mysterious bridge, pointed -out that sunlight could not have produced the phenomenon in the way -described. When a bright lamp shines through an open doorway into a -darkened room, the light spreads out like a fan into the shadowed area -because the light source is very near. But the supposed light source -in this case was the far-distant sun. If a shaft of sunlight were -shining under a huge lunar arch, as claimed, the opposite boundaries -of the illuminated area would be essentially parallel, not divergent -like the fan-shaped region described. Examining the Mare Crisium -wall through the fifteen-inch Harvard telescope, Dr. Menzel (who was -therefore labeled “one of the Army stooges”[XI-16a]) concluded that -the bright area observed by the amateurs must have been a high plateau -that was still illuminated by the setting sun while the rest of the -crater wall was already in darkness. The roughly curved boundary of -the illuminated plateau, seen against the shadowed mountains, had -been mistakenly interpreted as a bridge. Dr. G. P. Kuiper, one of the -world’s leading authorities on the moon, also studied the area with the -eighty-two-inch reflecting telescope at the McDonald Observatory, and -reached the same conclusion. - -One writer offered further proof (derived from an unnamed source) -for the reality of the new bridge. Astronomers at Mount Palomar -Observatory, he asserted, had made a secret study that confirmed the -presence of the structure; furthermore a spectrographic analysis was -supposed to have proved that the bridge was made of metal[XI-16]. - -Sensible comment on these statements is not easy. A “secret” study -would be impossible since the moon’s face is obviously open to all -viewers, and the purported chemical analysis is sheer nonsense. The -spectroscope can tell the physicist what luminous gases are present -in the atmosphere around a heavenly body, but it cannot reveal the -composition of a solid object on the surface of the body, unless the -object is first heated until it vaporizes and is transformed into gas. -Before a physicist could make a spectrographic analysis of the alleged -lunar structure, he would have to land on the moon and chip off a piece -of the “bridge” itself. - - -“_Pieces of Saucers_” - -In UFO publications, any oddly shaped chunk of rock or metal is -likely to be described as a fragment of an interplanetary craft. A -six-inch meteorite that fell at Sylacauga, Alabama, (_Chapter_ V) -has been classified in one saucer book as an “unidentified crashed -object.”[XI-16] By peculiar reverse logic, sometimes the absence of a -solid fragment is adduced as equally valid evidence of flying saucers. -The green fireballs of New Mexico (_Chapter_ V) were identified as -spacecraft partly because they did not leave material traces on the -ground. Similarly, when a small object apparently struck and went -through a metal signboard in New Haven, Connecticut, on August 19, -1953, the object itself could not be found. Nevertheless, from a study -of the size and shape of the hole and the material around the hole, -saucer investigators, with more than Sherlockian skill, concluded that -the object must have been a missile from outer space. - -To identify “pieces of saucers,” a new pseudoscience has now developed -which we may call “xenochemistry,” the interpretation of substances -allegedly from other planets. In xenochemistry, a full qualitative and -quantitative analysis is usually not performed and exact results are -not made public. From an identification and sometimes a quantitative -estimate of one or two of the elements present in the specimen, the -investigator infers the nature of the rest and treats the inference -as proved fact. On the basis of this “analysis” he concludes that the -object, before it entered our atmosphere, must have had a certain -chemical composition that is unknown or impossible on earth and that -the object therefore came from another planet. - - -_Silver Rain in Brazil_ - -One of the most publicized substances to be analyzed in this way was -the “silver rain” that allegedly fell from an unidentified flying -object in Brazil. The incident occurred on December 13, 1954, in the -city of Campinas and the witness was a housewife but, as in many UFO -sightings, exactly what happened is not easy to find out[XI-17]. UFO -publications in England, New Zealand, and the United States reported -that the sighting had occurred at night but, in spite of the darkness, -the witness had observed the objects in detail. She described three -gray-colored, circular flying saucers; each was made up of two sections -or plates, one placed on top of the other; the top plate rotated -continuously and sent out a strong light. Moving soundlessly and in -close formation, the three saucers had performed fantastic acrobatics -over the city, apparently unnoticed by the other residents. Suddenly -one of them had peeled off and dived low over the roof of the woman’s -house, lighting up the whole neighborhood with the brilliant glare of -its rotating section; then, going into a high-speed climb, it dropped -at her feet a liquid substance that fell “like silver rain.” - -According to the more generally accepted and more probable version, the -incident occurred in the morning in full daylight. The housewife was -feeding her poultry when she heard a noise on the ground near her feet. -Stooping down, she observed a pool of shiny liquid, like silver rain, -which solidified within a few seconds. Looking up, she saw three large -objects moving rapidly high in the sky and they looked to her like -flying saucers. - -A reporter on the Campinas _Correio Popular_, hearing rumors that a -flying saucer had dropped strange material “something like lead,” -interviewed the woman, collected some fragments that a neighbor had -picked up, and took them to a local chemist for analysis. The newspaper -then reported that the stuff was absolutely pure tin--that is, it was -about 90 per cent pure tin and the rest was either oxidation or metal -alloys that were unknown on earth[XI-17, XI-18, XI-19]. - -Understandably interested in this report, members of the Brazilian Air -Force also interviewed the witness and collected some of the fragments -she showed them, as well as other fragments that had fallen about the -same time in other parts of the city. Laboratory analysis showed the -material to be merely solder. Several large airports not far from -Campinas might well have had large planes in the air; they could have -dropped the solder. The Air Force obviously saw no need to invoke the -presence of extraterrestrial vehicles to account for the incident and -considered the problem solved, but Brazilian saucer enthusiasts refused -to accept this explanation. In their opinion the Air Force had either -gotten hold of the wrong material or was covering up the true facts. - -Two years later, in the autumn of 1956, the reporter who had ordered -the original analysis received another collection of fragments and -turned them over to a group of civilian investigators of UFO phenomena. -Although he did not know the full history of the new fragments -(unfortunately he had forgotten the names of the persons who gave them -to him), he himself was convinced that they were part of the original -shower of silver rain. Accepting this theory, the civilians sent the -fragments to the United States for analysis: one part to a sympathetic -scientist at an Ohio college, who asked a chemist colleague to test the -material, and another to a commercial chemist in New York. When the -New York chemist, like the Brazilian Air Force in 1954, reported that -the material was an ordinary tin solder, the UFO group concluded that -the fragment sent him must have been spurious, and refused to accept -his findings. The Ohio chemist reported that his specimen contained -tin, did not contain antimony, and had a density of 10.3. Since the -density of tin is 7.3, the sample obviously contained other elements in -addition to tin. - -With the reports in hand, the editor of the Brazilian _UFO Critical -Bulletin_ published the xenochemical conclusion under the headline, -“Stuff Analyzed by American and Brazilian Scientists Proves the UFOs -Are Non-Terrestrial Flying Machines.”[XI-18] - -The full facts on which this conclusion rests should presumably be -available for study, but they have never been published. The origin of -the 1956 fragments is unknown; they may or may not have been part of -the 1954 fall. But the 1954 incident at least offered an apparently -ideal chance to establish beyond doubt the exact composition of a -substance that fell from some object in the sky, and to determine -whether it came from earth or from beyond. The material did not -deliquesce or disappear, as gossamer and industrial waste may do, -but remained available for analysis. Incredibly, this ideal chance -was lost. Of the several chemists involved, none made a complete -qualitative, quantitative, and spectroscopic analysis, and none -published his complete data. The Ohio chemist, busy with ordinary -duties, had time to make only a preliminary analysis of the 1956 -fragment. He did not determine the amount of tin present and did not -determine what elements other than tin were in the sample. The density -of the 1954 sample is not known and the results of the complete -qualitative, quantitative, and spectrographic tests, if performed, are -not available. - -When a businessman sends a specimen to a commercial chemist for -analysis, he expects to receive a specific list of exactly what -elements it contains and in what percentages. If he received, instead, -results such as those of the silver-rain analysis, plus the chemist’s -opinion that the specimen used to consist of something else in -different proportions, the businessman would very properly refuse to -pay. - -No competent chemist would use the meager data available to assert -that the 1954 and 1956 fragments had an identical origin, or that they -were originally composed only of pure tin. A quantitative analysis -theoretically could show that a given sample is composed entirely of -a certain element such as tin, but if the sample contains only 90 per -cent tin, 10 per cent obviously consists of other elements, and the -specimen is not 100 per cent pure tin. - -With so few facts available, the actual identity of the silver rain can -only be guessed at, but overwhelming evidence indicates that it was -made right here on earth. - -The _Handbook of Chemistry and Physics_ lists a large number of -possibilities. At least 5 alloys of tin and lead, without antimony, -have densities between 9.43 and 10.33, like the 1956 fragments. -Ordinary “plumber’s solder” is 67 per cent lead, 33 per cent tin, and -has a density of 9.4. “Tinman’s solder” is 67 per cent tin and 33 per -cent lead. Many aluminum solders have neither antimony nor lead, but -contain tin in percentages ranging from 50 to 97 per cent, combined -with varying proportions of zinc, aluminum, copper, cadmium, or -phosphorus. - -One judicial-minded investigator of flying saucers gently pointed -out to the editor of the _UFO Critical Bulletin_ that the use of the -word “proved” for the extraterrestrial origin of the silver rain was -premature, and suggested the need for obtaining and publishing a -complete analysis before drawing any conclusions. The editor responded -with the peculiar logic of the xenochemist: - -“What more is necessary to convince so severe and thickheaded person -as Dr. ----? Would be necessary a statement in conjunction with some -highly worldly considered scientist? ... Would be necessary a statement -in conjunction from Eisenhower, Khrushchev and the Pope?--This he’ll -never get of course. Would be necessary a UFO landing on his private -garden?”[XI-17] - -Another type of colored substance is the “blue rain” that sprinkled -a thirty-mile stretch of countryside near London on September 9, -1962. Falling without warning from clear skies, it left a blue stain -that wouldn’t wash off. Investigation showed that the substance came -from jet planes taking part in Britain’s annual giant air show at -Farnborough. The jets were using the blue dye to color their vapor -trails and make a more spectacular display. - - -_Other Mysterious Fragments_ - -In the spring of 1960 Mrs. Coral Lorenzen, director of the Aerial -Phenomena Research Organization, publicly challenged the truth of -the Air Force statement that “no physical or material evidence, not -even a minute fragment of so-called ‘flying saucer’ has ever been -found.”[XI-20] Mrs. Lorenzen announced that she had in her possession -two fragments of an extraterrestrial vehicle that had met with disaster -in the earth’s atmosphere. Without specifying the date and location -of the event, the identity of the witnesses, or any corroborative -details of the alleged disaster, she merely said that several persons -had witnessed the catastrophe. She went on to assert, somewhat -astonishingly, that “the gratifying aspect of this case, however, -is that we do not have to depend on the testimony of witnesses to -establish the reality of the incident for the most advanced laboratory -tests indicate that the residual material could not have been produced -through the application of any known terrestrial techniques.”[XI-21] - -Sending a letter and two photographs of the fragments to Colonel -Lawrence J. Tacker, then in the Office of Information, United States -Air Force, she simultaneously released to the press copies of both -letter and photographs, and suggested that the Air Force could -“vindicate” itself by analyzing the material. The newspaper photographs -showed one fragment about four inches long and two inches wide -resembling petrified wood in appearance, and a smaller piece shaped -roughly like a flattened cupcake, whose surface showed pits and whorls -like those on the trailing end of a meteorite. - -Two days later, without waiting for a reply from Washington, Mrs. -Lorenzen through the newspaper amplified her challenge. If the Air -Force wanted to examine the mysterious fragments, she said, they would -first have to agree to certain conditions[XI-22]: - -“(1) APRO officers, together with duly appointed Air Force liaison -personnel, would establish a board of experts representing both -military and civilian UFO researchers. - -“(2) This board of experts would decide what meaningful tests need to -be performed on the material in question. - -“(3) The board then would select a qualified testing agency to perform -these tests under its cognizance.” - -In all its history, the United States Air Force can surely have -received no more extraordinary proposition. Whatever he may have felt, -Colonel Tacker merely suggested that Mrs. Lorenzen could submit the -material to ATIC for analysis. - -The fragments were never forwarded to the Air Force. - -Eventually APRO published some information about the “disaster.” Early -in September 1957 a group of fishermen on a beach near Ubataba, Brazil, -had supposedly sighted a disk-shaped object flashing down toward the -sea. The UFO had suddenly veered upward and exploded, showering down -fragments and sparks like fireworks. Several pieces had been obtained -by a Brazilian representative of APRO, who submitted them to a chemist -for complete tests including spectrographic and X-ray diffraction -analyses. - -The analyses have apparently never been published. Although they -evidently showed the presence of at least three elements common on -earth--magnesium, hydrogen, and oxygen--APRO somehow deduced that the -fragments in their original state had consisted of pure magnesium and -that the hydroxide must have formed when they came in contact with the -water. The final conclusion stated that the object consisted, at least -in part, of 100% magnesium. Similarly, perhaps, a cook might assert -that since chocolate fudge consists, at least in part, of 100 per cent -sucrose, fudge must originally have been composed entirely of pure -sugar, except for a little chocolate and milk it picked up in passing -through the kitchen. - -From the few facts available a positive identification of the fragments -is impossible. The description of the object seen by the fishermen fits -that of a meteor that broke into pieces near the end of its flight. -In the photographs the fragments look like ordinary meteorites, which -often contain a fair amount of magnesium (see _Chapter_ V). There is -no evidence to suggest that the fishermen’s “wrecked spaceship” was -anything but an exploding meteor. - -In the last fifteen years the Air Force has patiently analyzed dozens -of odd substances ranging from angel hair to pancakes. The statement -made in 1960 by General Thomas D. White, Chief of Staff, United States -Air Force, still holds true: - -“By an act of Congress the United States Air Force is charged with the -Air Defense of the United States. Rapid identification of anything -that flies is an important part of air defense. Thus the Air Force -initiated and continues the unidentified flying object program. Under -this program all unidentified flying object sightings are investigated -in meticulous detail by Air Force personnel and qualified scientific -consultants. So far, not a single bit of material evidence of the -existence of spaceships has been found.”[XI-23] - -[XI-1] Ormond, R. “I Found a Little Green Man,” _Flying Saucers_ -(August 1957). - -[XI-2] Scully, F. _Behind the Flying Saucers._ New York: Popular -Library, 1951. - -[XI-3] Cahn, J. P. “Flying Saucers and the Mysterious Little Men,” -_True_ magazine (September 1952). - -[XI-4] Lorenzen, C. E. “The Reality of the Little Men,” _Flying -Saucers_ (December 1958), p. 26. - -[XI-5] Michel, A. _The Truth about Flying Saucers._ New York: Criterion -Books, 1956. - -[XI-6] Maney, C. A., and Hall, R. _The Challenge of Unidentified Flying -Objects._ Washington, D.C., 1961. - -[XI-7] Crompton, J. _The Spider_, London: Collins, 1950. - -[XI-8] CRIFO _Orbit_, November 2, 1956. - -[XI-9] CRIFO _Orbit_, December 7, 1956. - -[XI-10] Air Force Files. - -[XI-11] Boston _Globe_, November 24, 1960. - -[XI-12] Barker, G. “Chasing the Flying Saucers,” _Flying Saucers_ -(September 1961), p. 33. - -[XI-13] Palmer, R. “NICAP: National Non-investigations Committee On -Aerial Phenomena,” _Flying Saucers_ (September 1961), p. 4. - -[XI-14] Palmer, R. Editorial, _Flying Saucers_ (March 1962), p. 2. - -[XI-15] _UFO Investigator_ (July-August 1961). - -[XI-16] Keyhoe, D. E. _The Flying Saucer Conspiracy._ New York: Henry -Holt & Co., 1955. - -[XI-16a] “There’s Intelligent Life on the Moon!” _Flying Saucers_ (May -1959), p. 73. - -[XI-17] _UFO Critical Bulletin_ (January-February 1958). - -[XI-18] _UFO Critical Bulletin_ (July-August 1957). - -[XI-19] _UFO Critical Bulletin_ (March-April 1958). - -[XI-20] News Release No. 98–60, Department of Defense, January 29, 1960. - -[XI-21] Alamogordo (N. Mex.) _Daily News_, March 13, 1960. - -[XI-22] Alamogordo (N. Mex.) _Daily News_, March 15, 1960. - -[XI-23] Tacker, L. J. _Flying Saucers and the U. S. Air Force._ -Princeton, N.J.: D. Van Nostrand Co., 1960. - - - - -_Chapter_ XII - -SPECIAL EFFECTS - - -Some flying-saucer reports, at first glance, do not seem to belong -in any of the ordinary categories of sightings such as mistaken -identification of air-borne objects or astronomical phenomena. Each -of these atypical UFOs forms a class of its own and, when explained, -proves to be the “special effect” of a unique situation. Many are -misidentified lights or reflections, but since each one derives from a -peculiar combination of circumstances that may not have occurred before -and is not likely to occur again, accounting for them often requires a -certain amount of luck as well as patient detective work. - -Let us suppose, for example, that an Iowa farmer telephones the county -sheriff one Tuesday afternoon to report that he has just seen a tiger -running through his cornfield. When the sheriff arrives an hour -later and can find no trace of a tiger, he is baffled; he knows the -farmer is neither demented nor a hoaxer, and must have seen something -remarkable--but what? The mystery remains unsolved until the sheriff -learns from a feature story in Sunday’s paper that on the preceding -Tuesday afternoon a trailer truck, carrying a shipment of animals for -the Des Moines zoo, had a flat tire while traveling on Highway X near -the junction with Route Y. During the stop to repair the tire, a giant -eland had escaped from its cage in the trailer; it had been recaptured -and the truck had then continued its journey and delivered its cargo -intact. - -The sheriff can now reconstruct the peculiar combination of events that -produced the “tiger” theory. He knows that the section of Highway X -where the truck stopped runs parallel to the far side of the farmer’s -cornfield. The newspaper account tells him that a giant eland is a -large antelope with short, twisted horns and a tawny-colored coat with -dark stripes. He concludes that the farmer, having only a few seconds’ -glimpse of a strange animal among the corn, had observed the eland’s -stripes but had failed to notice its horns, and had therefore mistaken -it for a tiger. - - -_The Role of Unusual Coincidence_ - -Analogous unlikely coincidences account for many flying-saucer reports. -The factors that encourage the misinterpretation may be the particular -time or place at which the phenomenon appears, the kind of weather, the -experience, physical state, or mood of the observer, his unawareness -of a certain fact, or any combination of these and other relevant -circumstances. - -A fairly simple case of this type was the reported landing of a -spacecraft near an Army barracks (often referred to in saucer -publications as the “Nike site”) in a rural area of Maryland, shortly -before dawn on the morning of September 29, 1958. The sergeant on duty -that morning left the orderly room at 4:25 A.M. and started to the -barracks to waken the troops. The sky was clear, with bright moonlight. -Hearing a whirring sound like a pitched baseball with a loose cover, he -looked up toward the west to see a brilliant round white object soaring -through the sky from north to south, and breaking up into smaller -pieces as it traveled. It disappeared behind the roof of the mess hall, -directly to the west, after being in view about two seconds. Hurrying -around the south side of the mess hall to search the western horizon, -he observed a very bright white, pulsating light at ground level, -apparently in a wooded area some four or five miles west of the battery -site, as though the glowing object had landed there. He reported the -incident to an officer, who measured the azimuth position of the -unknown. The glow remained in one place but diminished with increasing -daylight until it was no longer visible. - -Air Force investigators arrived that afternoon. They had already -received many reports that a brilliant fireball had flashed through -the sky at 4:25 A.M., the time in question, and had been observed by -many witnesses in the area between Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh, -Pennsylvania, but no fireball could account for the ground light. -The next morning at 5:15 A.M. an intensely white, fluctuating light -was observed at the same place and was studied through binoculars -until daylight made it invisible; it could be seen only from the west -side of the mess hall, and one step to the right or left would hide -it from the observer. Traveling toward the position of the unknown, -investigators found a dairy barn three miles away, and on a direct line -of sight from the place the UFO had been observed. On one end of the -barn was a 200-watt floodlight with a white reflector, still burning. -On questioning the farmer, they learned that until recently the light -had been burned out and had not been in use. The early hour of sunrise -during the summer had provided all the light he needed to milk his -cows. With the shorter days of autumn, however, he had needed the light -and had replaced the bulb only a few days before. On the morning of the -sighting, he had turned on the light a few minutes before the sergeant -had noticed it[XII-1]. - -Thus several unrelated factors had combined to produce the illusion -of a landed space vehicle: 1) only a week earlier, newspapers had -publicized the alleged landing of a flying saucer in Sheffield Lake, -Ohio (see _Chapter_ XIII); 2) a brilliant fireball had appeared; 3) a -farmer had turned on a floodlight, previously out of use for several -months; 4) the meteor had disappeared and the floodlight had appeared -in roughly the same position as viewed by the observer. - - -_The Problem of Unknown Lights_ - -At night, when an observer notices a light appearing out of the -darkness, he usually cannot see the object that produces or carries the -light. Under familiar conditions on the ground or in the air he usually -interprets the light correctly, by a kind of informed guesswork, as -that of an automobile, an advertising sign, an airport beacon, a -plane, a star, etc. But if it appears under unfamiliar conditions or -in unexpected circumstances, he has to make an uninformed guess based -on largely unconscious estimates of its size, distance, height, color, -and rate of movement. To the driver of a car on a dark country road, -a single light suddenly appearing ahead may indicate a plane or a -star low in the sky or something on the road itself--a motorcycle, a -car with only one headlight working, a workman’s lantern, a pedestrian -carrying a flashlight, or something else. A double light may mean -another automobile, two motorcycles traveling parallel, an animal whose -eyes shine in the approaching headlight, or something else. The driver -cannot be sure he interprets the light correctly until he passes it and -can see the object itself or until he can identify it in some other way. - - -_Michigan’s Flying Bird Cage_ - -A UFO sighting based on mistaken identification of strange lights -occurred in the early morning hours of March 22, 1959, near Ann Arbor, -Michigan. The night was clear, the moon was nearly full, and visibility -was unusually good. At about 1:30 A.M. a man and his wife driving on -a country road suddenly noticed a strange object hovering in the sky -south of the road. According to their report to the Air Force, the UFO -was an elongated oval with a dome on top, something like a bird cage, -and brilliantly illuminated by two shafts of intense pale-yellow light -that sprang from the bottom and converged over the top. Frightened at -this apparition, the witnesses could provide only uncertain estimates -of distance and size. The object seemed to be twenty to thirty feet in -diameter, was at an altitude of about 200 feet when first seen, and -was hovering about two miles away. As they drove on, the object seemed -to move and travel parallel with the car for about a mile. Then the -yellow lights dimmed and a circle of eight or ten red lights suddenly -appeared on the underside, the UFO rose vertically, very rapidly, and -vanished in a few seconds. It had been in view for a period of five to -ten minutes. - -Checking the most probable explanations first, ATIC officials found -that the nearby Willow Run Airport had had no aircraft in the vicinity -at the time and that no star or planet seemed to be involved. Further -investigation showed that the flying bird cage was actually the radio -telescope of the University of Michigan. The telescope was installed -on the top of Peach Mountain and was clearly visible from the road -on which the witnesses were traveling. On the underside of the -eighty-five-foot “dish” was a wire-mesh structure that suggested the -bird cage. At the time of the sighting the dish was facing in the -direction of the witnesses and was illuminated by a floodlight as -well as by the bright moonlight. It had seemed to be following the -car only because the car itself was moving. The astronomers operating -the telescope were rotating the dish from the horizon to the zenith, -and the yellow lights dimmed because the witnesses were seeing less -and less of the surface. The “circle” of red lights was the red -aircraft-warning lights on the WUOM radio tower, which lay in a direct -line between the telescope and the witnesses. When the dish reached the -zenith and was pointed to the sky overhead, the operating crew turned -off the floodlights. The dish was no longer visible to the witnesses, -who interpreted the sudden disappearance as a sudden vertical ascent -into the sky[XII-1]. - - -_UFOs from Reflections_ - -Reflections from the bright sun have produced many elusive UFOs. All -pilots are familiar with the luminous objects that sometimes appear in -the air below a plane on a sunny day, particularly when the plane is -flying over wooded terrain that is partly obscured by atmospheric haze. -The sun has been reflected momentarily from a broad shiny surface, such -as the metal roof of a farm building; because of the contrast between -the bright surface and the dark forest surrounding it, the image -appears to be a UFO floating high in the air. - -Sometimes the sun shines on a bright metallic surface, such as the -chrome trim of an automobile, and by chance is reflected directly into -the eyes of a passer-by. If he then glances at the sky he may see a -whole fleet of UFOs; the bright flash has produced a temporary chemical -change in the retina so that for a moment or two the eye sees a series -of saucer-shaped images of the sun. A photographer’s flashbulb or a -bright flash of lightning can produce similar after-images. - -Some startling UFOs have been produced by reflections from an object -that the witness was not able to see or did not recognize. One night -in the spring of 1961 an amateur astronomer reported that a huge -cigar-shaped flying saucer was hovering in the sky several thousand -feet above the Harvard College Observatory. Investigation showed that -the “UFO” was a reflection from a small oblong insulator on an electric -wire strung between two buildings. Faintly illuminated from below -by the lights from the unshaded windows, it seemed to be an immense -and brilliantly glowing object high in the sky. The witness at first -refused to believe that he could so mistake the evidence of his own -eyes. Next morning, however, he returned to the scene and was able to -see that what had appeared the night before to be a giant spaceship was -only a small insulator a few feet above his head. - -The bright sun reflected at a particular time from an object invisible -to the observer often produces a puzzling phenomenon, such as the -flying saucer reported from Danby, California, early in October 1958. - -About 4:00 in the afternoon on October 2, three prospectors standing -near a tungsten mill at Railroad Danby noticed a sudden bright glow in -the northwest sky which remained visible for about 2½ hours and then -disappeared. When a glow appeared again the following day at the same -time and place, the observers tried to identify it by using a small -telescope and saw a bright, oblong object hovering above the horizon; -it was the color of aluminum, approximately fifteen feet long, five -feet high, and about four miles away. Getting into a car, the men drove -in the direction of the object and searched the supposed location on -foot for several hours, but could find no trace of the UFO. - -Several days later, realizing that the object reappeared every day at -about the same time and place, two of the men decided to investigate -further. Studying the object through a pair of powerful binoculars, -they could see guy wires coming from it and rods radiating from the guy -wires. Remembering that two tall radio antennas used by the highway -patrol stood in approximately the same location, the witnesses found -the explanation, which Air Force investigators confirmed. The antennas, -placed some twenty feet apart, extended about twenty feet above the -trees. The cigar-shaped hovering object was a special effect depending -on a particular combination of circumstances: only during the first -part of October, and only late in the afternoon, did the sun’s rays -strike the antenna in such a way that the reflection was visible to an -observer at Railroad Danby[XII-1]. - - -_Sundogs in Utah and France_ - -Sundogs are another special effect resulting from a peculiar -combination of circumstances, and they continue to supply their quota -of good UFO reports. Tiny ice crystals floating in a layer of quiet -air and reflecting a bright sun are responsible for producing sundogs. -A thin layer of such crystals may be invisible to the observer; a -thick layer appears as the familiar cirrus clouds. Sunlight filtering -through such an ice fog is reflected in each crystal so that a pattern -of bright spots of light forms in the sky, an image of the sun that -sometimes rivals the sun itself in brilliance. These images are called -mock suns, sundogs, or parhelia when they accompany the sun (and mock -moons, moondogs, or paraselenae when they accompany the moon). They -appear in the sky at a position a given distance from the sun and -usually have a trace of red on the edge nearest the sun. - -Occasionally a sundog makes a complete circle of light surrounding -the sun with four bright patches, one above, one below, and one on -either side. Sometimes two circles will appear, one within the other, -surmounted by an inverted arc and traversed by a cross, like the -spokes of a wheel whose center is the sun. The complicated structure -of a fully developed mock sun--which is extremely rare--can suggest -to the imaginative an enormous chariot in the sky and can terrify the -superstitious. There is little doubt that this phenomenon inspired the -two visions of Ezekiel described in the Bible. - -Mock suns have been the cause of many UFO sightings. Even after several -publications [see [XII-1a]] explained how the sun reflected from ice -crystals could account for some of the reported flying saucers, this -idea was largely ignored by early investigators who had a limited -training in the physical sciences. - -Sundogs are relatively uncommon. Few airmen, even those with long -experience, have learned to recognize them. In a poll of both -commercial and military pilots, Dr. Menzel found that only one in -five knew what a sundog was and how it might look in the sky. Two of -three generals in the Air Force, similarly, were unfamiliar with the -phenomenon. Like balloons, sundogs have a silvery metallic sheen. When -observed from the ground, they seem to hover or move very sluggishly; -to a witness in the air they seem to move rapidly, to pace the plane, -or to take evasive action as though under intelligent control. When -enough data are available, and the time of day and the position of -the unknown relative to the sun are appropriate, a mock sun should be -considered as a possible explanation of the UFO. - -A sundog seen from a plane can suggest a spectacular and fantastic -structure, like the one reported over Rheims, France, at 2:30 P.M. -local time on March 31, 1960. The pilot and crew of a C-47 plane -described the unknown as like a gigantic spool of thread some twelve -feet tall. The neck of the spool, about six feet in diameter, seemed to -be capped at top and bottom by disks eight or ten feet in diameter. The -upper disk was reddish, the lower, blue-green. The plane was flying at -6000 feet and had just passed from a storm area into a region of calm -with unlimited visibility. The UFO remained in view for about sixty -seconds, then suddenly vanished. From an analysis of the data, the -position of the unknown relative to the sun and the observers, and the -weather situation, Air Force investigators positively identified the -object as a mock sun[XII-1]. - -One of the most recent sightings of this type occurred on October 2, -1961, a few minutes after noon[XII-1]. A civilian pilot who was just -taking off from the Utah Central Airport at Salt Lake City noticed a -bright silvery disk in the air ahead of his plane. He supposed it to -be another aircraft crossing his course. When he was air-borne, he -was surprised to find that the object, now an elongated pencil shape, -still appeared in the same position where he had first seen it and -hence could not be a plane. Puzzled, he radioed the control tower and -reported the UFO. Looking south as directed by the pilot, the tower -operator easily found the object, a bright spot in the sky directly -below the sun and apparently hovering over the town of Provo, forty -miles to the south. - -Deciding to investigate, the pilot left the traffic pattern and started -directly south after the UFO. It seemed to be standing practically -still in the sky, with a little rocking motion, at an altitude of -6500 to 7000 feet. He seemed to have approached within three to five -miles when the UFO suddenly shot up “like an elevator” and retreated -rapidly south, as though taking evasive action. The acceleration was -tremendous, almost as though the UFO had been fired from a rocket, but -there was no vapor trail and no sound. It then disappeared, gradually. -“It just faded out. I kept my eyes glued right on it because I could -see it was moving away at a great speed. I wanted to see how long -it would take and it was just a second or two until it had faded -completely. And it was getting smaller all the time, you could see it -was moving away.” The speed of departure, the pilot estimated, must -have been thousands of miles an hour. - -Alerted by the pilot’s message to the control tower, several persons on -the ground at the Salt Lake City airport, most of them with experience -as pilots, had also been watching the UFO. Ground observers at the -Provo airport, also alerted, were not able to locate the unknown, even -though they had been told it was almost directly overhead. - -Investigators from a nearby Air Force Base interviewed the witnesses, -who were obviously competent and reliable. All agreed that the -unknown had been a bright, silvery, metallic-looking object that -seemed to glisten or flicker in the sun; that it was roughly oval or -indeterminate in shape; that it was solid and tangible, but not a -conventional aircraft or balloon; that it made no sound, showed no -exhaust or vapor trail; that it was in view roughly fifteen minutes, -and disappeared gradually by “blotting out” or fading. All but one -of the witnesses agreed that the skies had been absolutely clear and -cloudless; one stated that, although the day was clear, a very slight -haze existed over the mountainous region where the UFO appeared. - -In spite of this general agreement, certain significant discrepancies -became evident. The pursuing pilot stated that the object had moved up -and away from him at incredible speed, as though it were controlled. -The ground observers, however, did not see any movement by the UFO. -Most of them reported that it remained stationary as though it were -suspended in the air; a few said that it vanished at intervals, only to -reappear a few seconds later in another place. Most of the time, they -agreed, it just hung in the sky until it faded from view. - -By analysis of these clues, ATIC was able to solve the mystery. -According to the local weather bureau, the sky had been clear with -visibility unlimited, but there had been very thin cirrus clouds, a -layer of minute ice crystals suitable for producing a mock sun. A -sundog would also account for the contradictory statements about the -UFO’s motion. Since the ground observers remained in one place, their -position relative to the sundog did not change and it seemed to remain -stationary. The pilot, however, was in a moving plane and changing his -position relative to the UFO; hence it seemed to move rapidly away -from him. In the same way a rainbow seems stationary to a person who -merely stands and watches it. But if he begins to chase it, hoping to -catch up and perhaps find the legendary pot of gold, the rainbow seems -to move away and elude its pursuer. The pilot’s belief that the UFO -had exhibited fantastic speed was, according to his own statement, -an inference based on the fact that the UFO quickly dwindled, became -very small, and vanished. It disappeared, however, not because it was -speeding away at thousands of miles an hour, but because of a change in -the relative positions of sun and ice clouds that produced the sundog -in the first place. One final point nailed down this explanation. The -angular distance between sun and UFO was exactly that to be expected -between sun and mock sun, at that time and place. - -The details of this sighting obviously show a striking resemblance to -some of those in the Mantell case (p. 33), in which the UFO and the sun -had the same bearing from the pursuing plane as in the Salt Lake City -incident. With the information now available, there can be little doubt -that Mantell was actually chasing a Skyhook balloon. But in 1948 when -so many of the relevant facts were not known, the sundog theory was a -reasonable solution and may still be the correct one. - - -_Bright Spots on Films_ - -A bright blur, a ring of light, or a circular image something like the -typical disk-shaped flying saucer sometimes appears on a film, much to -the surprise of the photographer, who had not noticed any such object -when he took the picture. These UFOs are usually caused by reflections -from unnoticed drops of moisture in the air or by defects in the -camera itself (see Figure 17). If the source of the image is something -peculiar, it may pose a real problem (see Plates VIIIa and b). - -[Illustration: _Figure 17._ Distorted images produced on film by lens -defects. A, True image; B, image produced by poor lens, not well -figured; C, by astigmatism; D, coma; E, off-axis beam; F, off-axis beam -and coma.] - -On July 24, 1957, an American tourist in Norway snapped a picture of a -group of houses on a cliff above the seacoast, and was amazed to find -some time later that the print showed a large white, doughnut-shaped -object hovering in the sky above the coast. Puzzled by this apparent -evidence of a saucer that had been visible to the camera but not to -her, she submitted the facts to ATIC investigators. Thorough study -of the negative, the camera, possible sources of reflection in the -landscape at the time the photograph was taken, all failed to account -for the mysterious intruder. Obviously not a cloud, the image closely -resembled a smoke ring, but the photographer had not been smoking -and there were no sources of smoke in the neighborhood. The experts -were baffled until one of them thought of a new possibility and again -questioned the witness: had she by any chance been wearing a ring when -she took the picture? She had--a sparkling diamond. If the angle of -the sun, the direction she was facing, and the position of her ring -finger in relation to the camera lens and to the sun had been exactly -right, the annular image would have been reflected into the lens at the -instant she snapped the picture. The resulting bright ring would look -exactly like the UFO that appeared on the negative[XII-1] (see Plate -VIIb). - -An unusually fine large UFO inserted itself into a photograph taken on -February 6, 1959, near Boulder, Colorado. The witness had spent the -afternoon climbing on Flagstaff Mountain and, about 5:00 P.M., snapped -a picture of the town of Boulder, to the southeast. Although he had -seen nothing unusual in the sky or in the air, the negative, when -developed, showed a small black blob that printed as a white, luminous, -roughly spherical object--a typical flying saucer (see Plate VIIa). - -Civilian saucer investigators in the area procured a copy of the -photograph and sent it to NICAP for evaluation. The witness himself -did not immediately assume that he had photographed an interplanetary -spaceship hovering over the city of Boulder; instead, he sent a print -and a description of the circumstances to Dr. Menzel, who was well -acquainted with the geography of Boulder and Flagstaff Mountain. Dr. -Menzel suggested that the blob of light could have been produced by -some type of reflection: “The sun appears to have been pretty low at -the time. Is there, in the approximate position of the blob, some house -with a fairly large window that could have been reflecting the sun? -Stand at approximately the same spot and look over the region with a -field glass. A bright spot like this often spreads enormously on the -film. You can see from the picture that the sun must have been shining -brilliantly. The shadow, especially of the large barn on the right, -gives us some idea of the height of the sun. This was in February, and -the angle of the sun will now have changed. Please make this test and -let me know.” - -Not until the first week of May, however, was the witness able to -repeat his excursion and make the necessary tests. Using a copy of his -original picture as a guide, he was able to stand in the exact spot -from which he had taken the picture. He then realized that the Law -Building of the University of Colorado stood in the place occupied by -the UFO and that the big double window of the Law Building was at the -exact center. In May no reflection appeared, but from calculations he -found that the position of the February sun was such that the window, -when open at just the right tilt, would reflect the sun’s image to the -exact spot on Flagstaff Mountain from which he took the picture. The -image of the reflected sun is extremely bright and the film had been -overexposed: therefore the image had spread on the film to create the -large UFO. To confirm the hypothesis, the witness tried overprinting -the negative so that the entire picture came out practically black, -and with successively longer exposures the size of the bright UFO -diminished. As he got it down to the smallest size on the blackest -print, he could see the fuzzy outline of a window[XII-2]. - - -_Unfamiliar Lights on Planes_ - -In the spring of 1961, a leading saucer publication stated that -unidentified objects were still surveying the earth and cited, among -other cases, a bright UFO seen maneuvering the night of March 23 -near Fort Pierce, Florida[XII-3]. The report failed to mention that -unidentified lights were seen on several other nights during that week -in the skies over Jacksonville, Miami, and Cocoa-Titusville, as well -as over Fort Pierce. Newspaper offices and radio stations in the area -received many telephone queries about the mysterious lights, which were -observed from the ground and from the air for periods of time ranging -from five minutes to an hour. The descriptions showed an impressive -consistency: the UFO was a round, twinkling light with a red or orange -color changing to white, and exhibited a bobbing up-and-down motion as -it swept across the horizon. In all sightings the weather was clear and -the visibility excellent. - -On the night of March 24 an Eastern Airlines pilot reported the UFO -to the Miami Traffic Control. An observer in the control tower at the -airport could see the object, but lost sight of it when he took up a -plane to chase it. On the following night the Cocoa-Titusville Airport -reported a similar object. A pilot in the air sighted the unknown and, -about an hour later, encountered a turbulence unlike anything he had -experienced in sixteen years of flying. Cruising in the region the next -day, he observed a burned-out area on the ground below the place where -the UFO had been. On the night of March 27, a ground observer watched -the unknown through binoculars as it moved rapidly from west to north -and gradually disappeared in the northwest. - -Most of these witnesses were veteran airmen, well able to recognize -conventional phenomena in the night sky. Studying their reports, -officials at Patrick Air Force Base decided that the similarity of the -descriptions warranted further investigation. In the preliminary study, -an Intelligence officer took up a B-57 aircraft in the vicinity of Fort -Pierce, while ground radar at Patrick Air Force Base kept his plane -under constant surveillance. At 7:20 P.M., when at 25,000 feet, he saw -the UFO, a white light three times brighter than the brightest star. -It appeared in the western sky and was moving north to south. When -viewed with the naked eye, the light looked like a star that dimmed and -brightened in a regular cycle; through binoculars it also displayed -the red and green navigation lights of a plane. Soon after the visual -sighting, the ground radar informed the investigating pilot that the -object was approximately fifty nautical miles from his plane and was a -jet airliner bound for Miami; the jet was observed for approximately -ten minutes as it descended toward the Miami airport. The investigating -plane remained in the air and, about five minutes after the jet had -landed, observed a second, similar, high-intensity light that appeared -in the western sky, moving from north to south. The radar at the Miami -air-traffic control center positively identified this light as a Delta -Airline jet, Flight 833, proceeding southeast. From these facts the -officers concluded that the UFOs seen in Florida that week had been -produced by commercial jet airliners[XII-1]. - -Two questions remained: How had the experienced pilots and ground -observers failed to recognize so familiar a phenomenon as a -night-flying jet? What accounted for the unprecedented turbulence -experienced by one pilot, and the burned-over ground below the region -of the sighting? - -The first question was soon answered. ATIC investigators telephoned -the Federal Aviation Agency and learned that experiments with a new -type of anti-collision beacon were being carried out from various field -offices, and that several jet airliners as well as some turboprop -aircraft were using the new light. The standard beacon was a rotating -sodium light, whose color is yellow. The new beacon was an intense -white light which, viewed at a slant, becomes a spectacular phenomenon -even more brilliant than Venus or Jupiter seen rising or setting -through a hazy atmosphere. Since the witnesses were not familiar with -the appearance of the experimental beacons, they had not recognized the -newly equipped jets. - -The answer to the second question came later, an example of the “luck” -required to solve some of these UFO puzzles. Major W. T. Coleman, then -Air Force Information Officer for the UFO project, was flying over -the Fort Pierce region on the afternoon of April 29 in calm, clear -weather when his plane ran into moderate turbulence of the short-wave -type, “like riding in a car over a washboard road.” The wind-shear -component was not large enough to explain the turbulence, and though -a cold front was approaching from the Gulf of Mexico, it was still -far out on the edge of the western horizon. Then, being a native of -Florida, he suddenly remembered that muck fires were fairly common in -the Everglades region, which lay below the plane. Peering down at the -glades, he noticed a very large muck fire. He concluded: - -“Now, as typical with a cold front situation, the surface wind was -blowing from the east pushing the smoke and heat toward the west coast -of Florida. This relatively warm air naturally was lifting in the -surrounding cool air. When the continuing warm air rose rapidly to the -higher altitudes it ran into the reversed upper winds (high altitude -westerly). In the process of being lifted the smoke filtered and -cleared, yet the air remained relatively heated. It was moved directly -across our course, thereby causing turbulence.”[XII-4] - -The fires explained both the turbulence reported during the week of the -UFO sightings and the burned-out area below the region of turbulence. -Thus these Florida UFOs were not spacecraft watching the earth, but -were a special effect created by the chance combination of unrelated -factors: a new and unfamiliar anti-collision beacon, an advancing cold -front, and fires in the Florida swamps. - - -_Inversions in California_ - -An unusually complex combination of events produced an epidemic of UFO -sightings in northern California during the week of August 12 to 20, -1960. Nearly every night dozens of reliable citizens throughout Tehama -County and the Mount Shasta region (long famous for its mysterious -lights) reported UFOs at various times and of various descriptions: -round, bright, metallic UFOs glowing with a reddish-purple fluorescent -type of light, cigar-shaped UFOs trailing a long fiery exhaust, -oval UFOs with red lights at each end and white lights in between, -yellow-colored UFOs like a flying railroad car with flashing red lights -at each end and white lights glowing at the windows. Radios roared with -static and radar sets were plagued with phantoms, as the state was -apparently invaded by a whole fleet of patrolling saucers. - -The most important factor in these sightings was the weather; prolonged -and extensive temperature inversions prevailed in the area all that -week. From southern Oregon through northern California multiple -inversions of 3 to 18 degrees occurred nightly. Under these conditions, -practically any light shining into the night was apt to be projected -upward as a mirage and to perform weird antics. Determining what was -the particular light source of some specific phenomenon is almost -impossible. - -As complicating factors, certain heavenly bodies made their own -contribution to the excitement. Most of the objects observed late at -night and watched for periods of one to three hours were refracted -images of the stars Capella or Aldebaran or the planet Mars. - -Some of the most spectacular sightings were those reported from Red -Bluff on the night of August 13–14. Two highway patrolmen were chasing -a speeding motorcycle when, at about 11:50 P.M. P.D.S.T., they saw what -they at first supposed to be a brilliantly lighted aircraft falling -directly toward them. Jumping out of their car, they watched the object -as it apparently reversed its course, shot upward, and began to perform -fantastic maneuvers in the eastern sky. The performance continued for -more than two hours. Before it ended, a second UFO had joined in the -celestial dance, which was observed by dozens of excited witnesses in -the Red Bluff area. - -Air Force bases in the neighborhood were notified, and ATIC -investigators gathered and studied the evidence. There was no real -mystery[XII-1]. The UFO first noticed by the patrolmen was probably -the star Capella, which at Red Bluff is circumpolar; it rose at 10:50 -P.M. and at the time of the sighting was about 4.7 degrees above the -northeast horizon. About an hour later (12:48 A.M.) Mars rose, also in -the northeast; and close behind it (1:15 A.M.) came the bright star -Aldebaran, which made a striking pair with Mars. With three brilliant -heavenly bodies just above the horizon, on a night of fantastic -multiple inversions of temperature and humidity, the only surprising -fact is that the number of UFOs reported was not larger. - -A person who has never been lucky enough to see a good mirage may -feel skeptical about the phenomenon. But those who have encountered a -first-rate specimen--for example, the Chicago skyline suspended upside -down in mid-air above Lake Michigan--know how startlingly real it can -seem. When the source of the mirage is not apparent, the displaced -image can seem mysterious and even frightening, as do many UFOs. - -One such phenomenon, which might easily have been interpreted as a -flying saucer, appeared shortly after dark one evening in mid-July, -1954, and was described by Dr. Menzel in a letter to a friend: - -“My wife and I were driving to Alamosa, Colorado, on one of the -longest, straightest stretches of highway in the United States, -commonly referred to as the ‘gun-barrel highway.’ I had turned over -the wheel to her and was settling back for a rest, after a long turn -at driving over the mountains, when I became aware of unusual driving -behavior on her part. First she would step on the gas, then on the -brake, then on the gas again. ‘What is the matter? What are you trying -to do?’ I asked. ‘See that truck ahead?’ she replied. ‘Every time I try -to pass it, it speeds up, and then it slows down when I try to give it -a chance to get ahead of me. It’s making me nervous.’ - -“I peered ahead through the darkness and there, sure enough, about -three hundred feet ahead of us was a truck, its dark body brilliantly -outlined with red and white lights. I studied the situation and glanced -at the speedometer, which read forty miles per hour. ‘Well,’ I advised -her, ‘you certainly ought to be able to pass that, dear, the way you -usually drive.’ And this time she really stepped on the gas, pushing -the speed up to sixty, seventy, eighty, and finally eighty-five. And -would you believe it, that truck took right out ahead, still holding -its estimated three hundred feet clearance, and matched us for every -mile of that speed. By this time I was beginning to get an idea. ‘Slow -down,’ I said. My wife obliged me by coming to a dead stop, brakes -squealing. - -“‘Now see there,’ she said, ‘I just escaped running into that truck.’ -And the truck had stopped, still 300 feet ahead. At this point I -ventured my conclusion. ‘That isn’t a truck,’ I explained. ‘It’s a -flying saucer.’ ‘You have flying saucers on the brain,’ she said. Well, -to shorten the story, she started the car again and the ‘truck’ moved -off. And we chased it in that fashion for about fifty miles. On rare -occasions, as we dipped slightly in a hollow, the truck would seem to -dash ahead at speeds close to 1000 miles an hour. Or sometimes it would -jump straight up, momentarily vanish, and then drop back into the road. - -“The explanation was quite simple. The hot day had warmed the air -close to the pavement, but the cooling of the surface at the onset of -darkness had caused a layer of warm air to be sandwiched in between the -cold air close to the road surface and the cold air above. This acted -like a lens which produced an out-of-focus image of a bright tavern -sign more than fifty miles away, a real mirage. There were few cars -on the road, but as we met them the effect was most startling because -some of them were so enlarged by the lens effect that a car five miles -away seemed to be rushing directly at us only a block or two ahead. -Sometimes these cars would appear to come to a sharp stop, reverse -their course and disappear in the distance. At other times they would -appear to be rushing on us upside down, with part of the road itself -in the sky. Altogether it was a weird experience, but not in any sense -supernatural. Lenses of air, either close to the ground or in the sky, -can produce strange illusions.” - -In this case, as in many UFO puzzles, the solution depended on -a knowledge of the weather conditions and of the facts of local -geography. If the pursuing car had turned off the road or stopped -for the night before reaching the tavern, the specific cause of the -phenomenon might still be a mystery. - - -_The Chesapeake Bay Case_ - -Two of the most famous UFO cases, the Nash-Fortenberry and the Tombaugh -sightings, have never been completely explained even though the -witnesses were unusually competent, the incidents fully described, and -the basic facts not in dispute. Although the probable type of mechanism -involved is clear in each case, determining specifically what factors -combined in exactly what way to produce the phenomenon has so far -proved impossible. Neither case, however, supports the theory that the -UFO had an extraterrestrial origin. - -On the evening of July 14, 1952, a Pan-American DC-4 was flying -from New York to Miami, carrying ten passengers and a crew of three -including First Officer William B. Nash and Second Officer William H. -Fortenberry. As a pilot spending much of his life in the air, Captain -Nash had long been interested in the question of UFOs, and during -the long night hours of over-water flights he had often cut down -the cockpit lights to search the sky. In five years of watching he -had observed hundreds of meteors, various types of auroral display, -the lights of other aircraft, and the multicolored images of stars -and planets distorted by refraction, but he had never seen any -unidentifiable aerial phenomenon that appeared to be under intelligent -control--until this particular night, when he was not watching for UFOs. - -Shortly after 8 P.M. E.S.T. the plane was cruising on automatic pilot -at about 8000 feet over Chesapeake Bay, and approaching Norfolk, -Virginia. The sun had set and the night was almost entirely dark, -although the coast line was still visible. Fortenberry, sitting at the -right as copilot, was making his first run on this particular course -and Nash, in the pilot’s seat at the left, was pointing out the cities -and landmarks of the route. Nash had just called attention to the -lights of Newport News and Cumberland, ahead and to the right of the -plane, when at 8:12 a brilliant red glow suddenly appeared in the west, -apparently between Newport News and the aircraft, and so low that it -might almost have been on the ground. One of the men exclaimed, as -have so many incredulous witnesses on first seeing a UFO, “What the -hell is that?” - -[Illustration: _Figure 18._ Reported movements of the Chesapeake Bay -disks. A, Disks at first approach; B, they flip over and reverse order; -C, they change direction and recede.] - -Looking through the front windows of the cockpit, they watched the -unidentified light traveling northeast at incredible speed on a -horizontal course roughly a mile below the plane. Almost immediately -they perceived that the unknown was actually a procession of six -red-orange lights, glowing like hot coals. Shooting forward like -a stream of red tracer bullets, the line of lights moved out over -Chesapeake Bay until they were only about half a mile away from the -plane. They appeared to be sharply defined, large, circular disks, -arranged in a narrow echelon formation--like a set of stairs tilted -slightly to the plane’s right, with the leader at the lowest step, -each following disk slightly higher and to the rear, and the last disk -at the highest point (see Figure 18). Realizing that the line was -apparently going to pass under the plane at the right on the copilot’s -side, Nash flipped off his seat belt so that he could move to the -window on that side. During this brief interval he was not able to see -the objects, but Fortenberry kept them in view. As he later described -their amazing behavior, all the disks simultaneously turned up on edge, -like coins, so that the glowing surfaces were tilted to the right. -Still on edge, they suddenly reversed their relative places so that -disk 1 now occupied the last place in line and disk 6 became the leader. - -This shift had taken only a brief second and was completed by the time -Nash reached the window. Both he and Fortenberry then observed the -disks flip back from the on-edge to the flat position. In the same -fraction of a second, the entire line changed direction as abruptly -as a ball bouncing off a wall and shot away to the west on a heading -of 270 degrees. An instant later two similar disks darted out, -apparently from beneath the plane, and joined the line as numbers 7 and -8 (Figure 18). The lights receded to the west, suddenly disappeared, -immediately reappeared, abruptly began a steep climb to an altitude -above that of the plane, then vanished not in sequence but in random -order. The sighting had lasted for a period of twelve to fifteen -seconds[XII-1, XII-5, XII-6, XII-7]. - -After a quick check showed that no one else in the aircraft had -observed the lights, the pilots radioed a message to the CAA station -at Norfolk for forwarding to the Norfolk Navy Base, reporting eight -unidentified objects traveling at speeds in excess of 1000 miles -an hour. In Miami, next morning, Air Force officials questioned -both witnesses. According to their estimates, the disks had moved -horizontally about 2000 feet above the ground until their final climb -and disappearance, were about 100 feet in diameter, and about 15 feet -thick. Since they apparently traveled fifty miles during the twelve to -fifteen seconds they were in view, their velocity would have been 6000 -to 12,000 miles an hour. - -Intelligence officials first checked the air traffic. Five jets from -Langley Air Force Base, near Newport News, had been in the region at -the time of the sighting, but they were ruled out as an explanation -for the disks. Both pilots were informed that seven other persons, -apparently on the ground, had reported unknown lights in the Norfolk -area; the Air Force files contain no record of these reports and -it is probable that some, at least, of these persons mistook the -sunset-reddened jet trails for UFOs. - -Few sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena have been more clearly -described. Both witnesses were experienced pilots. Nash had flown -more than 10,000 hours at altitudes of 7000 to 8000 feet and had held -the rank of captain for eight years. Both men had been trained to -observe accurately, to check and double-check every factor that might -affect safe flying, and to regard the word “assume” as a potential -killer. They shared the attitude of all cautious airmen: “In God we -trust--everyone else, we check.”[XII-5] Unlike many UFO descriptions, -their report distinguished rigorously between fact and inference, and -it included the exact time of the sighting as well as the position, -height, speed, and direction of flight of their plane. Using a kind of -“instinct-judgment” gradually developed during their many hours in the -air, they had made careful estimates of the position, height, speed, -and direction of flight of the unknowns. Nevertheless, no reasonable -explanation of the disks was found. - -At the time of this incident flying saucers had been big news for many -weeks. Both _Life_ and _Look_ magazines had recently published serious -discussions of the possibility that flying saucers came from other -planets, and newspapers were printing dozens of reports of weirdly -glowing machines trailing fiery exhausts, streaking through the air at -meteoric speeds (see _Chapter_ VII). At ATIC, the small staff of nine -men was swamped with saucer reports, far more than they could deal with -properly, and some of the investigators were privately convinced that -UFOs did come from outer space[XII-6]. For those or other reasons, the -Norfolk sighting unquestionably received a less adequate study than -would a similar incident today. The case was dropped and filed as an -Unknown. - -The incredible velocity and instantaneous change of course reported -were obviously impossible for any earthly vehicle; no known metal -could have escaped being melted by the frictional heat produced during -so swift a passage through the dense atmosphere at 2000 feet, and no -human flesh and bone could have survived the smashing inertial forces -involved in the instantaneous change of direction. Nash and Fortenberry -frankly stated their own conviction: “Though we don’t know what they -were, what they were doing here or where they came from, we are certain -in our own minds that they were intelligently operated craft from -somewhere other than this planet.”[XII-7] - - -_A Possible Explanation of the Nash-Fortenberry Disks_ - -In the hope of solving the mystery, even though a decade has passed, -the authors of this book have made a thorough study of the available -evidence and present the results in the pages that follow.[D] - -[D] We wish to thank Professor C. A. Maney and Captain W. B. Nash for -their generous help with this problem. Although they do not agree with -our conclusions, Professor Maney has kindly made available certain -useful documents and Captain Nash in a lengthy correspondence has -patiently answered a great many questions of detail. - -When puzzling observations in a laboratory seem to point to a -conclusion that contradicts the main body of scientific knowledge, -the researcher first tries to repeat the experiment and duplicate -the observations. If this is impossible, as with the Chesapeake Bay -phenomena, he next re-examines the assumptions on which the conclusion -is based. The belief that the UFOs had an extraterrestrial origin is -based chiefly on two assumptions: first, that the estimates of the -disks’ size, distance, and speed were reasonably accurate; and second, -that the disks were solid objects. If either assumption is unsound, the -extraterrestrial theory is unnecessary and the incident becomes much -less of a puzzle. - -Both witnesses were able and experienced observers. Nevertheless their -determinations of distance and size, and hence of speed, are open to -question because of the very fact that the disks were unidentified -phenomena. Angular estimates are usually reliable when an observer is -judging the position and speed of other known aircraft moving in the -sky. But when the moving object is a strange one and is seen against -an empty sky or flat ground containing no standards of comparison, -estimates of actual size mean very little. - -The ability to judge distance depends largely on the binocular vision -of the observer’s eyes, separated by a span of about 2.5 inches. -Focused on an object at 300 feet, they subtend an angle of about one -fortieth of a degree, less than one tenth the diameter of the full -moon. This is a physiological fact, and means that if the observer -is more than 300 feet away from an object of unknown size, he cannot -determine its distance accurately unless he knows how large it is or -unless he can compare it with a known object. Using angular estimates, -the witnesses in the Chesapeake Bay case calculated that at the point -of closest approach the disks were a mile lower than the plane and -about half a mile to the north--a distance of roughly 7000 feet. -Mentally comparing their appearance with that of a DC-3 aircraft at -this distance, the observers arrived at an estimate of size--whose -accuracy depends on having a known distance. The circularity of this -process indicates the weakness of all the estimates given. Even the -most skillful observer cannot accurately judge the distance of an -unidentified object when he does not know its true size, and he cannot -judge the size unless he knows its actual distance. - -Over Norwich, Connecticut, on May 15, 1962, a cloudless day with -perfect visibility, a Navy aircraft and a commercial-airlines plane -reported a near collision at about 7000 feet. The Navy pilot filed -a complaint, stating that the two planes had missed each other by a -distance of only about 600 feet. According to the commercial pilot, who -did not file a complaint, the planes had had a leeway of about 4000 -feet--a more than sixfold difference![XII-8]. Thus good pilots can -differ widely in estimating the position of objects in the sky, even -known aircraft seen in full daylight. With an unrecognized phenomenon -seen in darkness or in semidarkness, as in the Chesapeake Bay case, -good estimates are impossible. - -The extraterrestrial conclusion depends even more strongly on the -second assumption, that the UFOs were material objects. Nearly every -part of the description is in direct conflict with this idea. The -instantaneous reversal of course, for example, if performed by solid -objects, should have produced a shock wave that would have broken -windows in Norfolk, Newport News, and points west. Only one observation -even suggests that the unknowns had a material nature: when the disks -flipped on edge they seemed to reveal bottom surfaces, which would -indicate a solid body. The witnesses specifically qualified this -statement, however, by adding that though they had the impression -that the bottom surfaces were unlighted, the “bottoms” were not -clearly visible. Thus the three-dimensional structure was not actually -observed, but only inferred. The night was dark, the UFOs were glowing -like hot coals, and were supposedly more than a mile away. Even if the -disks had been solid objects, an observer could actually have seen only -a circular-shaped light that suddenly narrowed to a very thin ellipse; -if he believed the object to be solid, he might infer the presence of -other surfaces, but a side edge 15 feet thick and an unlighted bottom -surface, even if they had existed, would not have been detectable. - -Of the other observations, all are inconsistent with the theory -that the UFOs were material in nature. All, however, are completely -consistent with the theory that the disks were immaterial images made -of light. - -Images made of light can glow with brilliant colors, can show -well-defined circular shapes, and can flip on edge. Since they are -not subject to the forces of gravity and inertia, they can travel -at incredible speed, change direction sharply and instantaneously, -and perform all of the maneuvers ascribed to the UFOs. On this new -assumption, the observations become credible and the major part of the -mystery vanishes. - -Only one problem remains. Just exactly what produced the images? Of -the many possible explanations, we first considered the simplest, -an astronomical source. The UFOs appeared low in the western sky at -8:12 P.M. E.S.T., about forty-five minutes after sunset. The night -was dark, for the moon had just entered its last quarter and did not -rise until much later. Apparently the only planet that could have been -involved was Mercury. Setting a little more than an hour after the -sun, it should have been visible above the western horizon at the time -of the sighting, but since it was not particularly brilliant, having -a magnitude of a little more than +0.6, we put aside the astronomical -theory, for the moment, as improbable. - -We next explored the possibility of multiple reflections in the glass -windows of the cockpit, produced by a light source inside the plane -(such as a cigarette), or in the air outside (such as the bright-red -exhaust trail of one of the jets in the area). Like the astronomical -theory, this idea was set aside as improbable. Learning to distinguish -between a reflection and a real light seen through a cockpit window -is part of every pilot’s training. When he sees a strange light, -he automatically makes the proper checks. Furthermore, Nash and -Fortenberry had observed the disks through three separate windows -having different orientations. - -Accepting the overwhelming probability that the source of the -UFOs was outside and below the aircraft, we concluded that it was -almost certainly on the ground. The densely populated coastal -region near Newport News and Norfolk, with several airfields and -military installations, included countless possible sources such as a -searchlight, an illuminated advertising sign, an air beacon. Stratified -clouds or inversion layers of temperature and/or humidity could have -multiplied such a light into a series of glowing disks (see Figure 19). - -[Illustration: _Figure 19._ Searchlight shining on clouds. A, Through -slightly foggy or dusty atmosphere, light cone plainly visible; B, -through multiple thin cloud layers and foggy or dusty atmosphere; C, -on cloud layer through clear atmosphere, no light cone visible; D, on -multiple thin cloud layers, no light cone visible.] - -The soundness of this theory depended on the prevailing weather -conditions. According to the reports, on the night of July 14 roughly -a third of the sky at 20,000 feet was covered with thin cirrus clouds, -practically invisible; at lower altitudes the night was cloudless and -sharply clear, there was no apparent haze, visibility was unlimited, -and no temperature inversion existed. Under such conditions the -suggested mechanism would obviously not operate. - -A more detailed survey of the weather conditions, however, quickly -showed that this picture was greatly oversimplified. At 8:12, the time -of the sighting, the night had already become quite dark. Yet the sun -had set only forty-five minutes earlier and, according to the almanac, -twilight should not have ended until 9:01 local time. Thus there must -have been a dense cloud bank low in the west. Also, according to -Captain Nash, there was probably some unstable air, which in itself -indicates inequalities of temperature and/or humidity. - -A thorough study of the situation showed that inversions of both -temperature and humidity must have been present. In the summer of 1952 -all the eastern states were suffering from an intense heat wave and -drought, and the ground cooled rapidly after sunset, because of the -lack of cloud cover during the day. In a period of heat and drought, -the nightly cooling produces marked inversions favorable to extreme -refraction or reflection. Small in extent, existing only briefly in -one place, constantly changing location, such inversions may not be -detected by radiosonde observations[XII-9]. During July and August, -temperature inversions occurred almost every night in the coastal -regions and accounted for the radar angels so frequently observed in -the Washington area during those weeks (see _Chapter_ VIII). - -The fact that the sighting occurred over Chesapeake Bay is significant. -A body of water cools more slowly than the land, and the air over water -is warmer than that over land. The cooler air from the land is carried -over the water by convection currents, flows in and under the warm air, -is heated by the water and rises, to be replaced in turn by the further -flow of cold air from the land. The air over a lake, river, or other -body of water also has a higher moisture content than over the land and -can form an invisible haze. - -All these facts lead inescapably to the conclusion that sharp localized -discontinuities of both temperature and humidity must have existed over -Chesapeake Bay on the night the UFOs appeared. A light on the Virginia -coast, shining northeast toward the plane, could easily have been -spread out into a series of images like those observed. A change in the -orientation of the light or a shift in the location of the inversion -would account for the abrupt change of course made by the disks. - -Since the plane was flying at a ground speed of about 195 knots (225 -to 250 miles an hour), it would have traveled about a mile during the -twelve or fifteen seconds the disks were in view. This distance would -have changed the relation between moving plane and stationary ground -light, so that the images would no longer have been visible from the -plane. By flying on, the witnesses left the phenomenon behind them. - -Obviously this solution does not identify the particular beacon, -searchlight, or other ground light that produced the Chesapeake -Bay disks. But it does offer a highly probable explanation that is -consistent with all the observations and does not depend on the -presence of an extraterrestrial spacecraft. - - -_Other UFOs in “Stack” Formation_ - -A correspondent has reported a UFO sighting very similar to the Norfolk -case, almost certainly produced by the mechanism just described. - -In the late spring of 1955 a physicist, Mr. Z, was driving west on -the highway between Dayton and Yakima, Washington, in a region of -low-lying hills. The time was shortly after dark; the sun had set but -there was still a suggestion of light in the west. Suddenly a line -of five glowing UFOs appeared in the western sky, apparently three -to five miles away, traveling east at high speed, and accelerating -as they approached. Flying in a “stack” with the leading saucer on -top, the individual saucers were oriented in horizontal planes, but -each follower was lower than and somewhat behind its predecessor so -that the entire formation was “like a stack of pancakes” leaning at -about a 45-degree angle toward the direction of flight. (Note that -this arrangement is the reverse analogue of that of the Chesapeake Bay -UFOs.) The top saucer advanced more rapidly than the bottom one, so -that as they flashed through the sky at the left of the observer they -appeared to be in single file. Startled, he stopped his car and got -out to scan the sky, but the saucers had disappeared. Some fifteen to -twenty seconds later a similar formation appeared in the west. As they -approached he could see that they were thin, flat disks, glowing with -a white light, sharply defined and circular in shape, and apparently -fifty to a hundred feet in diameter. As they passed, the stack again -spread out into single file. When they were apparently about ten miles -east, the three lead saucers suddenly disappeared, while the two that -had been on the bottom made a sharp turn to the north, as abruptly as -balls bouncing off a wall. - -Concluding that the saucers might be images produced by an airfield -beacon shining upward through very thin horizontal clouds, the observer -continued to watch. They reappeared again and again, sometimes at the -correct interval for an airfield beacon, but sometimes delaying for -two or three minutes. To explain their occasional failure to appear -on schedule, he reasoned that some very dense, fast-moving, low-lying -clouds must lie in the west between him and the beacon, so that -sometimes the light could penetrate to shine on the assumed stratified -layers overhead, and sometimes not. After twenty minutes or so, the -appearance of the phenomenon changed. The top three saucers merged -gradually into an indistinct blur, while the bottom two remained sharp -and distinct and continued to dart abruptly to the north just before -disappearing. - -Although the observer was not able to see the very thin layers of cloud -overhead that would be required to account for the sharply defined -shape of the saucers, he concluded that his explanation was the most -reasonable one[XII-10]. - -In the Norfolk sighting, unfortunately, the witnesses could not easily -have remained in one place to watch for a possible reappearance of the -UFOs. If they had circled and flown back, and had been able to find the -exact location, they might have seen the disks again. - - -_The Tombaugh Rectangles_ - -A remarkable phenomenon observed in New Mexico in the summer of 1949 -has remained among the most puzzling of the Unknowns. As in the -Chesapeake Bay case, the facts are not in dispute. The witness was -an astronomer, Clyde Tombaugh, at that time in charge of the optical -instrumentation of the rocket-firing program at the White Sands Missile -Range. He had had thousands of hours of experience in observing the -night sky and when still a student had gained fame, after months of -patient searching of photographic plates, by locating the image of the -planet Pluto near the position long predicted for it by Lowell and -Pickering. - -On the night of August 20 Tombaugh was sitting with his wife and -his mother-in-law in the yard of his home in Las Cruces, watching -the stars. There was no moon, and the transparency of the sky was -extraordinary, so that even the stars of sixth magnitude, usually -barely detectable by the naked eye, were clearly visible. About 10:45 -P.M. a geometrically spaced group of six to eight rectangles of light -appeared almost directly overhead. Of low luminosity, they were -“windowlike” in appearance and yellowish-green in color. The individual -rectangles were quite small, not wider than four or five minutes of -arc, and the entire group covered a span of about 1 degree (about twice -that of the full moon). As they moved noiselessly in a vertical circle -path toward the south-southeast, the individual rectangles became -foreshortened, the span of the group became smaller, the lights turned -brownish and faded from view when 35 to 40 degrees above the horizon. -They had been in sight for about three seconds. Mrs. Tombaugh, who did -not see the lights until they had moved some distance from the zenith, -observed them for only about 1½ seconds before they disappeared. To her -they seemed a diffuse greenish glow, interconnecting a span of greenish -spots of light. Her eyesight had always been less acute than that of -her husband, and they attributed the difference in their descriptions -to this difference in vision. - -Although Tombaugh had been too startled to count the number of -rectangles or to note some other features he wondered about later, he -immediately recorded the facts of the observation, sketched the pattern -of the formation, and noted his impression that the lights had been -part of a rigid structure. He added, “I have done thousands of hours -of night sky watching, but never saw a sight so strange as this.” A -report of this sighting was forwarded to Air Force officials, who could -find no explanation. UFO enthusiasts unhesitatingly pronounced the -phenomenon a huge flying saucer--an interpretation that the witness -himself never made. - -The accounts given to the public unfortunately suffer from various -distortions of fact. In its Cassandra-like warning of possible -visitors from other planets, _Life_ magazine included the Tombaugh -sighting as one of the key cases and in a ten-sentence description -managed to include at least six misstatements, some of which added to -the “uncanny” nature of the incident. According to this summary[XII-11] -the year was 1948 (it was 1949); the time was about 11:00 P.M. (it -was 10:45 P.M.); the lights were traveling south to north (they were -moving northwest to southeast); the object had an oval shape (Tombaugh -did not specify a shape); the lights exhibited a glare (they were of -low luminosity); their speed was too fast for a plane, too slow for -a meteor (no estimate of speed was given). On a nationwide TV show -broadcast in 1958 one of the speakers stated specifically that Tombaugh -had observed a cigar-shaped object with lighted portholes[XII-12]. An -“artist’s conception” of the UFO in one publication[XII-13] depicts a -long, tapered ship with a line of lighted windows, wholly unrelated to -Tombaugh’s own sketch, which shows no unifying structure, merely six -small rectangles arranged as though each one were at the corner of a -hexagon (see Figure 20). - -[Illustration: _Figure 20._ Tombaugh’s rectangles. Top, when first seen -at zenith; bottom, a few seconds later at 50° above horizon. (Based on -sketch by C. W. Tombaugh.)] - -While keeping an open mind on the possibility of interplanetary travel, -Tombaugh himself has never supported the spaceship interpretation so -often attributed to him in print but has considered various possible -explanations--insects or birds illuminated by ground lights, or -reflections of ground lights against the boundary of an inversion layer -in the air. Of these, the inversion theory seems the most probable. The -layer in such a case must have been extremely thin or extremely weak, -otherwise it would have dimmed the brightness of the faint stars he was -observing. As in the Chesapeake Bay case, the mysterious rectangles -were undoubtedly the special effect of some unique combination of -circumstances, unlikely to be repeated. Conditions were ideal for -the formation of small sharply localized inversions: the weather was -clear, the day had been hot. A small temperature inversion existing -at a relatively low elevation and smoke, haze, or dust collecting in -a very thin layer at a relatively low altitude were the prerequisites -that almost certainly existed. Some unknown cause--in the vicinity -of an airfield there are many possibilities--could have produced a -ripple in the thin haze layer. This ripple, tipping the haze layer at -a slight angle, could have reflected the lighted windows of a house; -as the ripple progressed in a wavelike motion along the layer, the -reflection would have moved as did the rectangles of light. Conditions -of refraction at the interface would have reflected the wave upward. - -Tombaugh has recently summarized his convictions on the entire UFO -phenomenon as well as on his own sighting: - -“From my own studies of the solar system I cannot entertain any serious -possibility for intelligent life on the other planets, not even for -Mars (the planet to which I have devoted considerable observation and -study over the past thirty-five years). The logistics of visitations -from planets revolving around the nearer stars is staggering. In -consideration of the hundreds of millions of years in the geologic -time scale when such visitations may possibly have occurred, the odds -of a single visit in a given century or millennium are overwhelmingly -against such an event. - -“A much more likely source of explanation is some natural optical -phenomenon in our own atmosphere. In my 1949 sighting the faintness -of the object, together with the manner of fading in intensity as it -traveled away from zenith towards the southeastern horizon, is quite -suggestive of a reflection from an optical boundary or surface of -slight contrast in refractive index, as in an inversion layer. - -“I have never seen anything like it before or since, and I have spent -a lot of time where the night sky could be seen well. This suggests -that the phenomenon involves a comparatively rare set of conditions -or circumstances to produce it, but nothing like the odds of an -interstellar visitation.” - -[XII-1] Air Force Files. - -[XII-1a] Menzel, D. H. “The Truth About Flying Saucers.” _Look_ -magazine (June 17, 1952). - -[XII-2] Johnson, C. L. Personal communication. - -[XII-3] _UFO Investigator_, April-May 1961. - -[XII-4] Coleman, W. T. Personal communication. - -[XII-5] Nash, W. B. Personal communication. - -[XII-6] Ruppelt, E. J. _The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects._ -Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1956. - -[XII-7] Nash, W. B., and Fortenberry, W. H. “We Flew Above Flying -Saucers,” _True_ magazine (October 1952). - -[XII-8] Boston _Herald_, June 3, 1962. - -[XII-9] “Radar Objects Over Washington,” _Air Weather Service Bulletin_ -(September 1954), pp. 52–57. - -[XII-10] Gifford, J. F. Personal communication. - -[XII-11] “Have We Visitors from Outer Space?” _Life_ magazine, April 4, -1952. - -[XII-12] “Flying Saucers, the Enigma of the Skies,” Armstrong Circle -Theatre TV Script, Jan. 22, 1958. - -[XII-13] Michel, A. _The Truth about Flying Saucers._ New York: -Criterion Books, 1956. - -[XII-14] Tombaugh, C. W. Personal communication. - - - - -_Chapter_ XIII - -INVESTIGATORS: AIR FORCE AND CIVILIAN - - -Few government employees in recent times have been subjected to -more criticism than the men in the Aerial Phenomena Group at -Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. This agency (usually -referred to in this book as ATIC) has the responsibility of -investigating all official reports of unidentified objects in our -skies. Of the thousands of such incidents studied so far, none suggests -that the UFO in question came from outer space. In fact, the term UFO -has proven to be one of the worst misnomers of history. In the most -perplexing cases, the phenomena reported are seldom material Objects, -very few of them are Flying and, when fully analyzed, almost none -remain Unidentified. - -Identifying strange objects in the air over the United States is -vital to the country’s security. That military officers should be -guilty of carelessness or casual guesswork in this serious business is -unthinkable. Yet ATIC investigators, and through them the United States -Air Force, of which they are members, for more than a decade have been -the target of vicious attacks by civilian enthusiasts devoted to the -cult of flying saucers. - -Banded together in various “research” organizations and operating on -the premise that UFOs are interplanetary in origin, most of these -enthusiasts flatly reject the normal explanations--planets, meteors, -satellites, balloons, reflections, birds, radar phantoms, hoaxes, -or delusions. Flying saucers _obviously_ cruise in our skies, the -believers argue, and the Air Force failure to admit the obvious proves -that its investigators are incompetent or dishonest or both, and that -they are involved in a giant conspiracy to conceal the truth from the -American public[XIII-1]. - -In the view of the saucer groups, the Air Force can do no right. If, -after receiving a UFO report, the investigators require some time to -collect all the relevant facts and to reach a sound conclusion, they -are berated for the delay and accused of cover-up tactics, as in the -Killian case (p. 52). On the other hand, when the answer is found -quickly and released to the newspapers, UFO addicts deny its truth and -assert that the explanation was hurriedly rushed into print in order -to deceive the public, as in the Pacific sighting on July 11, 1959 (p. -106)[XIII-1a, p. 8]. Some of these peculiar beliefs may rest on an -imperfect understanding of the actual aims, methods, and resources of -Air Force investigators. - - -_Official Study of UFOs_ - -The report of an unidentified flying object, in about 90 per cent of -the cases, comes first from an ordinary private citizen, who often -notifies the local newspaper or radio station. Not until he reports the -incident to a military official, however, is ATIC empowered to start -investigation. The commanding officer at the Air Force base nearest the -place of the sighting then makes a preliminary investigation and, if -the facts seem to warrant further study, forwards the information to -Dayton for evaluation. - -With years of experience to draw on, the Aerial Phenomena Group -can often identify the unknown after a brief study of the report. -If not, they try to determine whether the report contains all the -facts necessary for an explanation and whether the unknown may be of -interest to Intelligence officers. Does it represent a possible danger -to the nation? Does it have possible military significance? Does it -have possible scientific or technical significance? If, after this -review, the investigators conclude that the unknown might be of some -importance, they carry out an intensive study in which they may have -the help of an organization directly connected with the Assistant -Chief of Staff for Intelligence or of allied Intelligence agencies. -When all the relevant facts are collected, a survey usually shows -that the unknown fits a particular class of sighting. To complete the -identification, ATIC can call on the expert knowledge of a specialist -in the type of phenomenon involved. - -Expert help is available from a large variety of sources: - -1. Official consultant to the Air Force, Dr. J. Allen Hynek, Director -of the Dearborn Observatory and Professor of Astronomy at Northwestern -University, formerly Assistant Director, Smithsonian Astrophysical -Observatory. - -2. Members of the Air Force with special scientific and technical -training, whose full duty is the study, investigation, and analysis of -UFO reports. - -3. A panel of military and civilian experts in all branches of science -and technology. - -4. The scientific and technical laboratories (photographic, ballistic, -chemical, etc.) of all branches of the Air Force and of other -government agencies. - -5. The meteorological records of the United States Weather Bureau, the -United States Coast Guard, and other government agencies. - -6. Commercial laboratories under contract to carry out special work. - -With the best scientific resources of the nation available, the Air -Force can make sure that a puzzling UFO phenomenon will undergo study -by an expert. Reports involving radar sightings are analyzed by the -research scientists who know most about the behavior of radar. If -satellites or astronomical objects might be involved, astronomers study -the evidence. If the report includes photographs or physical evidence, -experts provide the appropriate laboratory analysis. If a UFO still -proves difficult to explain, the complete facts are laid before a -panel of experts for discussion. When a sighting has been completely -analyzed, the conclusions--known or unknown--are filed with the record -of the case. If the newspapers have publicized the incident, a summary -of the analysis is given to SAFIS (Office of Information Services, -Office of the Secretary of the Air Force) for release to the press. - -In the early years of the flying-saucer saga, almost none of the men -assigned to investigate UFOs had any special training in the optical -and astronomical sciences or in investigative techniques. Since the -specific facts of so many cases were classified, civilian scientists -who might have helped explain the UFO puzzles were not able to get the -necessary information. Unsurprisingly, the percentage of unexplained -cases sometimes reached as high as 5 to 10 per cent, and once reached -the staggering peak of 20 per cent! In recent years the techniques -of collection, investigation, and analysis of the facts have greatly -improved. Air Force investigators not only have excellent training, -they also have a solid body of experience behind them. In later reviews -they have found the answers to many, but not to all, of the backlog -of “Unknown” cases which, if reported today, would probably cause no -problem. Some of the old cases will probably never be solved because -the men in charge at the time did not always know what questions to -ask. Essential information was not obtained and can never be obtained -now. - -The Air Force never closes an unsolved case. Reports that have been -listed as Unidentified or Insufficient Evidence are reanalyzed when new -evidence becomes available. Occasionally new evidence produces a more -complete or even a different explanation for a case that was previously -considered probably solved. - -Statistical summaries of the UFO sightings for each month and for -each period of six months are forwarded to SAFIS for release. In -recent years ATIC has been receiving fewer than 600 reports per year -and solving about 98 per cent. In 1961, 578 UFOs were reported. Of -those in which all the necessary information was available, all but -thirteen--about two per cent--were completely explained. - -Believers in flying saucers tend to ignore the 98 per cent of cases -fully explained by the Air Force, and to focus attention on the 2 per -cent that remain puzzling. Yet no distinguishable difference exists -between the types of observation described in solved and in unsolved -cases. From considering the original reports, the competence of the -witnesses, and the appearance and movements of the various UFOs, no -analyst could predict in advance which will be fully accounted for and -which will not. The witnesses (often technically trained observers or -experienced airmen) in the cases that are solved are just as reliable -as--and no less so than--the witnesses in the unexplained cases. They -report the same classes of phenomena--glowing UFOs, hovering UFOs, UFOs -moving at high velocities, making incredible maneuvers, and behaving as -though under intelligent control. - -The Air Force has accounted for nearly all of these flying saucers. -The various causes included aircraft, balloons, satellites, mirages, -inversions, hoaxes, delusions, reflections, birds, lenticular clouds, -ball lightning, radar anomalies, sundogs, meteors, planets, stars, -the Aurora, and other astronomical phenomena. The few remaining -cases report similar observations and undoubtedly have one of these -causes--which cannot be proved because some essential fact is -missing. No data in these unsolved cases suggest that the UFOs had an -interplanetary origin or that they constituted a threat to the security -of the United States. - -When Air Force investigators have determined that a UFO report does -not represent anything of interest to Intelligence, their primary duty -ends. However, since many UFO puzzles are of interest for scientific -or technical reasons, the investigators try to find the specific -explanation of each case and, if it has attracted public attention, -give the final solution to the press. - - -_Civilian Saucer Groups_ - -Since the first flying saucers were reported in 1947, dozens of -civilian clubs have been organized throughout the world to collect UFO -reports and publish “the truth” allegedly suppressed by government -sources. During the last decade the roster in the United States has -included such groups as the Borderland Sciences Research Associates -(California), Interplanetary Intelligence of Unidentified Flying -Objects (Oklahoma), Intercontinental Aerial Research Foundation -(Nebraska), UFO Research Committee (Ohio), Civilian Saucer Intelligence -(New York), Waukegan Contact Group (Illinois), Saucer Investigative -Research Organization (Georgia), World Society of the Flying Saucer -(Idaho), Civilian Research on Interplanetary Flying Objects (Ohio), and -the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (Washington, -D.C.). The oldest of these saucer clubs, the Aerial Phenomena Research -Organization (Arizona) was founded in 1952 and issues a bimonthly news -sheet, the _APRO Bulletin_. More or less regular publications (some -now defunct) of these groups have included the _Cosmic Researcher_, -_Interplanetary News Service_, _CRIFO Orbit_, _Saucerian Bulletin_, -and _UFO Critical Bulletin_. In recent years some of the best factual -accounts of UFO incidents (as well as some of the weirdest speculation) -have appeared in the magazine _Flying Saucers_, which is not connected -with any club. - -A few clubs, chiefly in California, are semireligious in character, -claiming repeated communication with ethereal beings in space. Some -clubs accept “contact” stories as valid, others do not. Certain -articles of faith are apparently common to all such groups: that UFOs -are actually vehicles from outer space; that they sometimes land on -earth and occasionally leave physical traces in the form of metallic -or organic substances; that scientists who cannot accept these beliefs -are hypocrites, archfiends, anti-Galileo reactionaries, stooges for -the Army or the Air Force, and members of the conspiracy to delude the -public. - - -_NICAP_ - -The largest and probably the most influential saucer group is the -National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), with -affiliated subcommittees in various parts of the country. Many -members of local organizations such as the UFO Research Committee of -Akron, Ohio, also belong to NICAP and help maintain close liaison. -The bimonthly news sheet, the _UFO Investigator_, is distributed to -members of NICAP and to prominent persons in the government and other -fields; it regularly lists recent UFO sightings reported by members, -and occasionally prints a detailed report of a specific case. Few of -the sightings reported can be independently evaluated because the -accounts often omit such essential facts as exact times, dates, places, -direction of motion, etc. - -With headquarters in Washington, D.C., NICAP strongly reflects the -views of its director, Major Donald E. Keyhoe, USMC (Ret.), that UFOs -may be interplanetary in origin, sometimes land on earth, but rarely -if ever make contact with human beings. Like most saucer believers, -many members of NICAP tend to assume without adequate investigation -that many unusual sky phenomena reported in the newspapers may be -extraterrestrial objects, and they often maintain this attitude in -the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. When the BOAC -Comet exploded near Calcutta on May 2, 1953, Major Keyhoe theorized -that a UFO might accidentally or deliberately have collided with the -plane. He continued such speculation even after British aviation -officials announced, after months of study, that the crash was caused -by metal fatigue[XIII-1]. Many of the items printed in the _UFO -Investigator_ are based on incomplete evidence. Under the headline -“Strange Series of Fireballs Reported,” NICAP listed a UFO observed on -March 7, 1960, at about 8:10 P.M., visible from the Canadian border -to Florida, and described by some observers as three or four UFOs -flying in formation[XIII-3]. This phenomenon was actually the satellite -Discoverer VIII making its final descent to earth. - -NICAP membership is theoretically open to any non-Communist -citizen[XIII-4], but applicants from the “contactee” fringe are not -encouraged. The committee once canceled the membership of a space -evangelist when he claimed publicly to be a spokesman for NICAP, and in -1958 it canceled the membership of seven famous contactees who had been -admitted without the knowledge of the director[XIII-5]. - -Investigations are carried out as spare-time projects of the -members themselves, some of whom constitute an advisory panel -of experts. Although many are highly respected in their own -professions--television, journalism, military science, religion, -government, aviation, engineering, medicine, psychology, and teaching -in the physical sciences--few are recognized specialists in the fields -required for the analysis of most UFO cases--radar propagation, the -physics of optics, meteorology, and astronomy. - -Since 1957 a major goal of NICAP has been a Congressional inquiry that -supposedly would reveal an Air Force conspiracy to deny the reality of -flying saucers[XIII-7]. In 1957 the director lodged a formal complaint -with a member of the United States Senate charging that the Air Force -continually made false statements on UFOs to the press, the public, -and members of Congress. In support of this accusation Major Keyhoe -submitted summaries of more than two hundred incidents[XIII-7]. - -The list cited a number of UFO reports that had never been submitted -to the Air Force for analysis. These included reports from foreign -countries (one in Sumatra in 1944 and one Holland in 1952) and from -NICAP’s private files. Others, such as the Kinross case (p. 154), had -not been within ATIC jurisdiction. Many others, such as the Mantell -(p. 33) and the Chiles-Whitted (p. 108) cases, had long ago been fully -explained. Still other cases, dating from the early days of the saucer -era, remain unsolved only because vital facts, not determined at the -time of the sighting, are necessary to a full explanation but cannot -now be ascertained. The request for a Congressional inquiry was denied -but has been repeated at intervals. - - -_The “Conspiracy” Fantasy_ - -Most UFO organizations cling to the belief that a conspiracy exists to -conceal the existence of extraterrestrial vehicles, but they disagree -on its precise composition. To NICAP and its affiliates, the chief -culprit is the Air Force, helped occasionally by other government -agencies and by well-known civilian scientists. APRO (Aerial Phenomena -Research Organization), however, considers that the Air Force is -involved only as the tool of still more powerful forces. The director -of APRO has published her conviction that nobody in the Air Force, -the Navy, or the Marines “has the brains” to contrive so successful a -scheme and that the alleged plot “could only be borne [_sic_] of minds -schooled in deception and contraception [_sic_]--the elite corps of the -Central Intelligence Agency.”[XIII-8] In still another version (which -makes the plots of E. Phillips Oppenheim seem amateurish) NICAP itself -is a pawn in a superconspiracy so vast that thousands of American -citizens have been made its unknowing tools[XIII-9]. The hundreds of -strange phenomena observed in the skies, the controversial photographs -of UFOs, the “spacemen” who visited Adamski and others, the “contact” -and little-green-men stories, the analyses made by the Air Force, the -formation of the various saucer clubs, NICAP and its war against the -Air Force--all these phenomena, events, and persons are allegedly parts -of a colossal drama planned, supported, and staged as a deliberate hoax -on the American public. The prime mover is supposed to be the Central -Intelligence Agency, whose motive is to conceal--something; just what -is not clear[XIII-10]. - -In comparison with this fantasy, NICAP’s charges of simple Air Force -cover-up seem tame. - - -_UFO at Sheffield Lake, Ohio_ - -One of the most notorious accusations of Air Force skulduggery, made -in attempts to procure a Congressional inquiry, was that embodied in -a saucerian study of the Fitzgerald sighting[XIII-11], published by -the UFO Research Committee of Akron, Ohio, which maintains a close -relationship with NICAP. Although the case was unimportant and was -completely explained, we shall discuss it in detail to illustrate the -peculiar views and methods of the flying-saucer groups. - -In summary, a strange light observed on a dark night for roughly half a -minute by a drowsy housewife was converted into a weapon to attack the -Air Force. The incident inspired thousands of words of argument, caused -the publication and distribution of a lengthy document, used the time -of busy investigators, required an otherwise unnecessary expenditure of -public funds, and evoked an exchange of letters among angry citizens, -harassed Congressmen, and equally harassed Air Force officials. In all -UFO history, no larger mountain has ever been made from so small a -molehill. - -On September 30, 1958, the Air Technical Intelligence Center at -Wright-Patterson Air Force Base received a letter from Mrs. William -Fitzgerald of Sheffield Lake, Ohio, reporting that on September 21 -she had sighted a UFO which she would like to have investigated. She -enclosed a three-page summary prepared by members of the UFO Research -Committee of Akron, and added, “I assure you that I will contact my -congressman about this matter if some action is not taken soon to -explain it.”[XIII-12] - -The alleged UFO had appeared at about 3 A.M. in the yard of the -one-story, two-bedroom house occupied by Mrs. Fitzgerald and her -husband. She had been sitting up alone watching television and had -gone to bed at the end of the late movie. The bedroom window was shut -and the window curtains were closed. Outside, the night was dark; the -moon had set, there were no street lights, and none of the neighboring -houses was lighted. Lying with her arm over her eyes, trying to get to -sleep, she suddenly realized that the room was illuminated and stood -up on the bed to look out of the window. - -According to her account, a disk-shaped object with a hump in the -middle, a dull aluminum in color, was moving across the yard at a -height of about five feet. The object did not glow and did not have -lights on it; she could not determine the source of the light that -made it visible to her. About twenty to twenty-two feet in diameter -and about six feet high, the UFO moved north across the driveway into -a neighbor’s yard, losing altitude on the way until it was only one -foot above the ground. At a distance of fifty feet, it stopped and -floated motionless for several seconds while pink-gray smoke billowed -out from two openings in the rim and illuminated the UFO. Each opening -contained seven pipes. The smoke did not come from the pipes but from -the openings from which the pipes projected. The object then moved back -into the witness’s yard, rising to a height of five feet. No longer -emitting smoke, it made two quick clockwise turns with a radius of -about three feet, and rose straight up. The roof of the house, jutting -out over the window, cut it from further view. During the entire time -of the sighting, about thirty-six seconds, she had heard a muffled -noise like that of a jet engine warming up. She had tried several times -to waken her husband, by kicking him, but without success. When the -object had gone, she went back to bed and slept. - -When she awoke at 11:00 the next morning and mentioned her experience -to the family, she learned that ten-year-old John Fitzgerald, sleeping -in the second bedroom, had also seen a strange light. He had apparently -wakened during the night to go to the bathroom and had returned to bed, -when he saw a bright light shining into his room and heard an unusual -noise. Climbing up on the radiator to look out of his window, he saw -something the color of a tin cup moving across the yard. After watching -for a few seconds until the light had gone, he went to bed and to sleep. - -Puzzled by the incident, Mrs. Fitzgerald telephoned the local -newspaper, the Lorain _Journal_, and the story appeared in several Ohio -newspapers. Members of the Akron Committee, one of whom lived in the -nearby town of Lorain, soon arrived to question her and prepare the -summary of her experience. Other witnesses in Lorain were reported to -have seen the same UFO. - -Even at first glance, the situation presented several unusual features. -The witness had delayed more than a week before notifying Air Force -investigators, yet she threatened to notify her congressman unless some -action were taken soon. She had not waited for action, however, but by -the same mail had written to her congressman requesting him to obtain -an explanation from the Air Force. The summary of her experience, -prepared with the help of members of the UFO Research Committee of -Akron, was equally remarkable. Even though her dark-adapted eyes had -just been assaulted by a bright light and the object had been in view -for a maximum of only thirty-six seconds, she provided a description so -detailed that it almost suggested a photographic memory. - -On October 3, three days after her letter reached ATIC, two Air Force -men, Technical Sergeant A and Technical Sergeant B, who were specially -trained in the investigation of UFO incidents, arrived in Lorain. After -a day spent in studying such pertinent matters as the local geography, -the records of the Weather Bureau, the Coast Guard station, and the -local railway, on October 4 they called on the witnesses. - -Again the situation was unusual. Mrs. Fitzgerald’s husband did not -appear. With Mrs. Fitzgerald and young John, however, was Mr. C, the -member of the local UFO group who had spent several days helping her -prepare her account. To the amazement of the sergeants, Mr. C seemed to -assume that he was in charge of the interview, answered the questions -put to Mrs. Fitzgerald, and continually interrupted with questions -and statements of his own. After half an hour of this frustrating -procedure, Sergeant A led Mr. C out into the yard. In the house, -Sergeant B resumed the inquiry and filled out the official report form. - -Few questions were asked of the boy because both the details and the -phraseology of his description seemed to echo adult conversations -overheard during the two weeks that had elapsed since the sighting. -According to the account prepared by the Akron Committee, the boy had -been frightened by a light so bright that he had to shield his eyes. -(The time was unknown, and the light may or may not have been the one -observed by Mrs. Fitzgerald.) Climbing on top of the radiator to look -out of the window, he had seen the UFO and watched it take off into -the air, and then had gone back to bed and to sleep. Sergeant B had -a young son of about the same age. That a normal ten-year-old boy -should not call out and try to awaken the household when confronted -with a whirling, humming, dome-shaped spaceship some twenty-two feet in -diameter and six feet high, moving through his own yard in the middle -of the night, seemed too improbable to warrant serious questioning. - -After finishing with the Fitzgeralds, the sergeants called on other -supposed witnesses in Lorain. Satisfied that they had completed a -thorough investigation, they returned to Dayton and presented the -information to their superior officers for evaluation. None of the -evidence suggested that the phenomenon had been a spacecraft[XIII-12]. -The UFO had been the “special effect” of a peculiar combination of -circumstances: - - 1. The time. The sighting had occurred about 3 A.M.; the exact - moment was not known and could not be determined. - - 2. The geography. The shore of Lake Erie lay about three fifths - of a mile north of the Fitzgerald house. South of the house, - roughly 100 yards away, ran the tracks of the New York Central - Railway. Southwest of the house about one and a half miles - stood a steel foundry. - - 3. The weather. A drizzling rain was falling at the time of the - sighting. There was some haze and wind; no moonlight. - - 4. Other factors, (a) Between midnight and 4 A.M. a Coast Guard - cutter equipped with an eight-inch spotlight had been plying - back and forth on Lake Erie, searching for an overdue cabin - cruiser. At about 3 A.M. the cutter had been headed east toward - Lorain, reaching there at 3:15, had then continued east beyond - Sheffield to Avon, before turning back to the Lorain lifeboat - station and berthing at 4 A.M. (b) At 2:52 A.M. a train had - left the Lorain railroad station, roughly three miles from - the Fitzgerald house. Eight minutes later it would have been - passing south of the house at a distance of about 100 yards. - The engine was using a rotating headlight. - -From these facts it was possible to reconstruct the probable sequence -of events that produced the UFO: In the hour or so before the sighting, -the witness had been sitting up alone watching the late movie on TV. -The film that night was a horror movie, _Dracula’s Daughter_. About 3 -A.M., soon after the witness had gone to bed, the Coast Guard cutter -on Lake Erie was traveling east toward Lorain, was very near the harbor -and was flashing its spotlight toward shore. The light had briefly -illuminated the two bedrooms of the Fitzgerald house and had roused -Mrs. Fitzgerald. At that distance, between three and four miles, the -beam would have spread and would have been dispersed still more by the -drops of rain falling. By the time Mrs. Fitzgerald reached the window -and pulled back the curtains, the searchlight was gone. At the same -time, however, the train that left Lorain at 2:52 was passing south of -the house, using its rotating headlight and producing a roaring noise -made more piercing by the moist atmosphere. Looking through the wet -glass of the window, the witness saw the beam of the train’s headlight -moving through the haze in the yard. Smoke from the nearby foundry was -also being blown into the yard. Illuminated by the circular beam of -light, the smoke seemed to be a glowing, solid object that moved back -and forth and emitted clouds of gray-pink smoke. - -In summary, the Air Force concluded that Mrs. Fitzgerald’s UFO was -an illusion produced by a combination of factors: an excited frame -of mind induced by _Dracula’s Daughter_, the spotlight on the Coast -Guard cutter, the rotating headlight of the train and the noise of its -engine, drifting smoke from the foundry, and the haze of the drizzly -night. - -This conclusion provoked an explosion from the witness, who wrote her -congressman suggesting mental incompetence on the part of the Air Force -official who analyzed the case. - - -“_The Fitzgerald Report_” - -The UFO Research Committee compiled and on December 1, 1958, published -a thirteen-page pamphlet (later reissued in amplified form and -copyrighted) entitled: “The Fitzgerald Report, A Complete and Detailed -Account of the Sighting of an Unidentified Flying Object, Sheffield -Lake, Ohio, September 21, 1958.” This document charged “duplicity” -in the Air Force treatment of UFO reports in general, and asserted -that the Fitzgerald investigation in particular had been “criminally -mishandled” and was a “disgrace to the U. S. Air Force and an insult -to the American public....” It further suggested that Sergeants A and -B be “disciplined” because their investigation was not adequate or -thorough, and that they had had “little or no intention of making an -honest investigation of this sighting.” - -Copies of the pamphlet were mailed to eminent scientists throughout -the country, members of the United States House of Representatives and -the United States Senate, officers in the Air Force, the Secretary of -the Air Force, and the Secretary of Defense. The publication of such -charges against an ordinary private citizen might easily have caused -a suit for libel. The Air Force investigators, whatever their private -reactions may have been, had no such recourse; their accusers could act -with fair assurance of immunity from legal action. - -The document made a number of specific accusations. Because of the -wide publicity given this attack, we shall discuss each point fully. -Our comments, appended in brackets, are based on official records of -the Air Force, the New York Central Railway, the United States Weather -Bureau, and the United States Coast Guard. Most of these facts were -available to the Akron Committee itself. - -_Charge 1._ Because of the position of the Fitzgerald house, the -headlight of the train could not have shone into the bedroom windows. -[Correct. But the point is irrelevant. The Air Force did not suggest -that the train’s light shone into the window. The light could have -shone into the yard, however, and would have been visible to a witness -looking out of the window. The brilliant light that flashed in the -window and roused the witness did not come from the train but from the -spotlight of the Coast Guard cutter.] - -_Charge 2._ Events taking place on the lake could not have had any -relation to the sighting because the shore was 3000 feet away and, -because of intervening houses and trees, a witness in the Fitzgerald -house could not see the lake. [Incorrect conclusion from the facts. The -beam of a spotlight on a boat moving one or two miles offshore (as was -the Coast Guard cutter at about 3 A.M.) could have been seen from the -house. The beam of such a light can be visible for great distances. -Reflected from the clouds and spread by the drops of moisture in -the air, it could easily have flashed into the window with great -brilliance.] - -_Charge 3a._ The spotlight used by the Coast Guard cutter was of a -type that could not be focused like a searchlight; therefore the beam -could not have been reflected from the clouds to the Fitzgerald house. -[Incorrect. The spotlight used could operate with either a diffuse or a -narrow beam, could be focused like a searchlight, and could have been -reflected from the clouds to the house.] - -_Charge 3b._ The Coast Guard cutter had used its spotlight and turned -the beam in the direction of the house only once that night, while -signaling another boat at a time two hours earlier than the sighting -and a place roughly five miles from the house. [The December 1, 1958, -edition of the document gives the distance as 4½ miles; the 1959 -edition gives 5½ miles. Whatever the true distance, the statement is -incorrect. A signaling incident did occur at the time and about the -place specified, but it had no relation to the Fitzgerald sighting. The -light was used frequently in the hours between midnight and 4 A.M., as -the cutter carried out its search for the missing cabin cruiser. In a -statement obtained by the Akron Committee itself, the chief boatswain’s -mate affirmed that “subject spotlight was flashed on and off a number -of times during the night, picking up objects in all directions. It -is hard to estimate how many times spotlights were snapped on and off -during subject search, but they were used quite often during short -periods of time.”] - -_Charge 4._ The statement that the supposed confirmatory witness, Mrs. -S, could not recall anything unusual for the night of the sighting -was “a lie,” as evidenced by her signed statement. [Incorrect. When -the investigators visited Mrs. S, she asserted that she had nothing -to contribute. At about 2:30 A.M. (half an hour earlier than the -Fitzgerald sighting) she had indeed noticed a bright-red glow that -had startled her at first until she realized that it probably came -from the nearby Ohio Edison plant or from the foundry. The signed -statement printed by the Akron Committee in the December 1958 edition -of the document bears no date. The notarized statement used in the 1959 -edition is dated March 25, six months after the sighting had occurred. -After the Air Force interview, apparently, Mrs. S had changed her mind -for reasons unknown.] - -_Charge 5._ The statement that another confirmatory witness, Mr. G, -was not available for interview was “pathetic” because it was Mrs. -G, not Mr. G, who saw the UFO. [The point of this accusation is not -clear. Because of a typographical error in a letter, “Mrs.” was changed -to “Mr.” The fact remains that the supposed witness, Mrs. G, was not -available. Also, the light she reported had appeared about 2 A.M., an -hour before the Fitzgerald sighting.] - -_Charge 6a._ It was not true that a misty rain with haze and mist had -occurred at the time of the sighting; the witness herself stated that -it was not raining. [Incorrect. The Cleveland Weather Bureau recorded -continual slight precipitation between midnight and 7 A.M.: .20 inches -were recorded between 2 and 4 A.M. When asked whether it was raining -when she saw the UFO, the witness replied, “It had rained a few hours -before,” a vague response suggesting that she had not noticed the -weather at the time of the sighting. Other parts of her account, -however, strongly indicate rain. Although the night was warm (about 65 -degrees F. at 3 A.M.), her bedroom window was closed.] - -_Charge 6b._ It was not true that smoke from the steel plant southwest -of the house could have been a factor in the sighting, because the -direction of the wind was wrong. [Incorrect. The Weather Bureau -recorded “WSW and SW” winds that night averaging ten miles an hour; -coming from the southwest, the winds would have blown the smoke -northeast, directly toward the house.] - -_Charge 7a._ The sergeants did not make a house-to-house check among -the neighbors to obtain confirmatory evidence. [Correct. Such a -time-consuming procedure would not have been justified. The neighbors -had had two weeks in which to report a visiting spaceship. No such -report had been made, even by the neighbor in whose yard the noisy -object was supposed to have hovered while emitting puffs of smoke.] - -_Charge 7b._ They did not ask Mrs. Fitzgerald to make a drawing of the -UFO. [Correct. Before their visit she had already made such a drawing, -prepared with the help of members of the Akron Committee who had shown -her a sketch of an alleged spaceship reproduced several years earlier -in an Air Force pamphlet[XIII-13]. With this sketch before her to -aid her memory, Mrs. Fitzgerald had described her UFO to a draftsman -provided by the committee. Unsurprisingly, the resulting sketch was -very similar to the picture used as an example. A drawing obtained in -this way could have no value as evidence.] - -_Charge 7c._ The sergeants failed to ask enough questions about the -motions of the object. [Incorrect. The standard form for reporting -unidentified flying objects contains questions specifically designed to -describe the motion of an unknown; all these questions were asked and -answered.] - -_Charge 7d._ They used only the standard report form; it did not -include questions that allowed Mrs. Fitzgerald to express all her -ideas of what she had seen. [Correct. The questions are designed to -elicit observed physical facts; it does not require all the witness’s -interpretations.] - -_Charge 7e._ They did not take notes during the interview. [Correct. -In filling out the report form they obtained all the necessary -information. They had been trained not to take additional notes because -some witnesses become nervous when they see that their remarks are -being written down.] - -_Basic charge 7._ These “omissions” in procedure proved that the -sergeants had little intention of making an honest investigation. -[Incorrect. They omitted no query that might have yielded useful -evidence. Their duty was to report and try to account for the -phenomenon observed by Mrs. Fitzgerald, not to record her belief in a -hypothetical spaceship. The details of structure and motion that Mr. -C wanted to insert in the record were mere impressions based on his -assumption that the UFO was a solid object under intelligent control.] - -The document repeatedly charged that the investigators asked too -few questions, and implied that they asked only five of Mrs. -Fitzgerald--yet she answered all the many questions in the standard -report form. Furthermore, Mr. C had no way of knowing just how many and -what questions were asked; during all the latter part of the interview -he was outside the house. - -Perhaps the best comment on the Fitzgerald Report and on the activities -of civilian saucer-investigation groups in general is that of Dr. -Thornton Page, the eminent astronomer who in 1952 served on the -scientific panel to evaluate UFO reports (see _Chapter_ VII). After -receiving a copy of the Fitzgerald Report, he wrote to a member of the -Akron Committee: - -“As a scientist I am interested in unexplained phenomena, but the -one or ones responsible for Mrs. Fitzgerald’s sighting is or are -undoubtedly highly complex. It is just as false to say simply that -she saw a flying saucer 20 feet in diameter as it is to say that she -saw nothing, or that she simply saw the train headlight on a mist. -Certainly, I would not expect a pair of Air Force investigators to -be able to explain her sighting (and the others) satisfactorily from -interviews two weeks after the event. It would be ridiculous to -propose that a team of experts in the fields of physics, psychology, -meteorology, engineering and railroading be sent to Sheffield Lake, -Ohio, to study these sightings from all possible angles. - -“I have already written to you and to others that your fundamental -error is in oversimplifying your explanations of complex natural -phenomena by assuming a common cause without justification. If you -say that everything you cannot understand is caused by gremlins, then -gremlins are everywhere! And the Air Force would need a much larger -budget to investigate every sighting or hearing or feeling of a gremlin! - -“... The onus is not on the Air Force or me to prove that no flying -saucer was present that night; the onus is on you and your UFO Research -Committee to prove that there is _no_ other explanation of what was -seen and heard.” - - -_The Open Mind_ - -Of the many astronomical observatories in the United States and -abroad, none has ever photographed an object that remotely resembled -a spaceship. Since 1957, hundreds of members of Moonwatch teams -throughout the world have watched the skies to record passages of the -many artificial satellites, but no Moonwatch team has yet reported the -presence of a spaceship. Radar stations on all continents keep track -of every artificial satellite and fragment of satellite orbiting the -earth. In February 1963 there were 284 such objects, originating in -Canada, Great Britain, Russia, and the United States. If an interloper -from beyond our planet should join the parade, Space Track stations -would at once detect its presence. - -The Air Force has found no evidence of any kind that anyone has ever -seen, heard, smelled, photographed, touched, or in any way detected a -trace of an interplanetary spacecraft. Extraterrestrial visitors have -not yet arrived, and may never arrive. If and when they do, our Air -Force wants to be the first to know. - -The Air Force will continue to investigate reports of unidentified -flying objects and to treat them as “serious business.”[XIII-14] The -security of the nation depends on this watchfulness. When a pilot -sees a bright object flashing through the sky and cannot immediately -recognize it, he knows that he may be looking at a meteor, a balloon, -a bird, a sundog, a planetary mirage, or another plane. On the other -hand, since he may be catching a significant glimpse of a guided -missile or an aircraft from beyond the United States, he promptly -reports another UFO. The Air Force cannot afford to guess what is in -our skies. They want to _know_. - -The creative scientist, eternally curious, keeps an open mind toward -strange phenomena and novel ideas, knowing that we have only begun to -understand the universe we live in. He remembers, too, that Biot’s -discovery that meteorites were “stones from the sky” was at first -greeted with disbelief, and he hopes never to be guilty of similar -obtuseness. But an open mind does not mean credulity or a suspension of -the logical faculties that are man’s most valuable asset. - -Human beings now stand on the threshold of space. Visits to and from -other worlds may occur in the future, bringing new facts and new -interpretations of reality that we cannot now imagine. No evidence yet -found indicates that such visits have begun. No fact so far determined -suggests that a single unidentified flying object has originated -outside our own planet. - -[XIII-1] Keyhoe, D. E. _The Flying Saucer Conspiracy._ New York: Henry -Holt & Co., 1955. - -[XIII-1a] Tacker, L. J. _Flying Saucers and the U. S. Air Force._ -Princeton, N.J.: D. Van Nostrand Co., 1960. - -[XIII-2] Keyhoe, D. E. _Flying Saucers from Outer Space._ New York: -Henry Holt & Co., 1953. - -[XIII-3] _UFO Investigator_ (March 1960). - -[XIII-4] _UFO Investigator_ (August-September 1958). - -[XIII-5] _UFO Investigator_ (April-May 1961). - -[XIII-6] _UFO Investigator_ (July-August 1960). - -[XIII-7] Keyhoe, D. E. _Flying Saucers: Top Secret._ New York: G. P. -Putnam’s Sons, 1960. - -[XIII-8] Lorenzen, C. E. “The Psychology of UFO Secrecy,” _Flying -Saucers_ (October 1958), p. 12 ff. - -[XIII-9] Davidson, L. [Letter] _Flying Saucers_ (October 1958), p. 79. - -[XIII-10] Davidson, L. “An Open Letter to Saucer Researchers,” _Flying -Saucers_ (March 1962), p. 36. - -[XIII-11] _The Fitzgerald Report_, The UFO Research Committee of Akron, -Ohio, 1958. - -[XIII-12] Air Force Files. - -[XIII-13] Project Blue Book, _Special Report No. 14_, ATIC, -Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. May 5, 1955. - -[XIII-14] New York _Times_, February 28, 1960. - - - - -APPENDIX - -UFO AND OTHER INCIDENTS REFERRED TO - - - _Date_ _Place_ _Associated _Page_ - name_ - - 1913 February 9 Canada Great Meteor 107 - Procession - 1947 Jan. 12 Puerto Rico 99 - June 24 Chehalis, Wash. Arnold 13 - June 31 Tacoma, Wash. Maury Island 21 - July 7 Kentucky 58 - - 1948 Jan. 7 Louisville, Ky. Mantell 33 - Feb. 18 Norton, Kans. 102 - July 24 Alabama Chiles-Whitted 109 - July 26 Southeast states 111 - July 27 Tennessee 112 - Oct. 1 Fargo, N.D. Gorman 77 - December New Mexico Green fireballs 93 - - 1949 Aug. 20 Las Cruces, N.M. Tombaugh 266 - - 1950 March 8 Dayton, Ohio 70 - March 17 Farmington, N.M. 48 - June 4 Colorado 95 - July 4 New Mexico Fry 200 - Aug. 11 Washington, Oregon 95 - Sep. 20 Murray, Ky. 96 - Sep. 20 Western states 98 - Nov. 2 Eastern states 95 - - 1951 May 29 Downey, Calif. 129 - Aug. 25 Lubbock, Tex. Lubbock lights 123 - Nov. 2 Texas 95 - - 1952 Jan. 6 California Van Tassel 201 - Jan. 22 Alaska 152 - Jan. 29 Eastern states 100 - May 7 Brazil Ilha dos Amores 206 - June 15 Virginia 39 - June 21 Oak Ridge, Tenn. 76 - July 2 Tremonton, Utah 130 - July 5 Hanford, Wash. 135 - July 7 Pacific Northwest 135 - July 12 Indiana 135 - July 14 Chesapeake Bay, Va. Nash-Fortenberry 256 - July 16 Salem, Mass. Coast Guard photo 122 - July 19 Washington, D.C. Radar saucers 155 - July 26 Washington, D.C. Radar saucers 155 - July 27 Manhattan Beach, Calif. Stack of coins 49 - July 27 Nevada Bethurum 201 - July 29 Port Huron, Mich. 160 - Aug. 1 Bellefontaine, Ohio 162 - Aug. 3 Hamilton A.F.B., Calif. 46 - Aug. 8 Durango, Colo. 50 - Aug. 10 Durango, Colo. 50 - Aug. 19 W. Palm Beach, Fla. Scoutmaster 136 - Aug. 24 Hermanas, N.M. 47 - Sep. 12 Sutton, W.Va. Sutton monster 137 - Sep. 24 Cuba 42 - Oct 10 Presque Isle, Me. 139 - Oct 10 France Angel hair 220 - Oct 27 France Angel hair 220 - Nov. 20 California Adamski 203 - Dec. 6 Gulf of Mexico 5 - Dec. 10 Odessa, Wash. 62 - Dec. 29 Japan Rotating lights 73 - - 1953 Jan. 9 Japan Rotating lights 73 - Jan. 21 Japan Rotating lights 73 - Feb. 6 Rosalia, Wash. - May 2 Calcutta, India BOAC Comet 276 - May 31 New South Wales 26 - July 29 New York Moon Bridge 228 - Aug. 5 Rapid City, S.D. Ellsworth A.F.B. 167 - Aug. 19 New Haven, Conn. 231 - September England Invisible saucers 165 - Nov. 23 Michigan Kinross 154 - Nov. 28 Eastern states 99 - - 1954 Jan. 30 Indiana 85 - Sep. 18 San Francisco, Calif. 92 - Sep. 18 New Mexico, Colorado 92 - Oct. 2 France 123 - Oct. 22 Marysville, Ohio Jerome School 222 - Nov. 30 Sylacauga, Ala. 88 - November Taormina, Sicily 205 - Dec. 13 Campinas, Brazil Silver rain 231 - - 1955 Feb. 21 Horseheads, N.Y. Angel hair 223 - March 3 Alaska 60 - May 19 Los Angeles, Calif. 130 - Oct. 31 Gainesville, Fla. 51 - - 1956 Feb. 4 Accra, Africa 50 - March 20–22 Cincinnati, Ohio 67 - April 8 New York Ryan 68 - Summer U.S.S.R. 178 - Aug. 26 California 130 - Sep. 10 Salina, Kansas 164 - Sep. 25 Cincinnati, Ohio Angel hair 224 - Dec. 29 White Pass, Wash. 28 - December U.S.S.R. 178 - - 1957 March 9 Atlantic Ocean PanAm-San Juan 104 - July 24 Norway 248 - Sep. ? Ubataba, Brazil 236 - Nov. 2 Levelland, Tex. 174 - Nov. 3 White Sands, N.M. 180 - Nov. 4 Orogrande, N.M. 181 - Nov. 5 Kearney, Neb. Schmidt 183 - Nov. 5 Brazil Itaipu Fort 184 - Nov. 5 Gulf of Mexico Sebago 182 - Nov. 7 Ohio Moore 185 - - 1958 Jan. 16 Brazil Trindade Island 206 - April 11 Johannesburg, S. Africa The Thing 51 - April 14 Eastern seaboard Sputnik II 116 - Sep. 21 Sheffield Lake, Ohio Fitzgerald 279 - Sep. 29 Maryland Nike site 239 - Oct. 2 Danby, Calif. 243 - Oct. 26 Maryland Lock Raven Dam 180 - - 1959 Jan. 8 Pennsylvania 113 - Feb. 6 Boulder, Colo. 249 - Feb. 24 Pennsylvania Killian 52 - March 13 Duluth, Minn. 72 - March 22 Ann Arbor, Mich. 241 - March-April Coburn, Va. Sheep Rock saucer 224 - June 20 Pacific Ocean 105 - July 11 Pacific Ocean 106 - Oct. 12 Washington, Ga. 225 - Oct. 19 Korea 73 - - 1960 March 7 East coast 277 - March 31 France 245 - April 1 Wallops Island, Va. 44 - Aug. 12–20 Northern California Red Bluff 253 - Oct. 5 Greenland 166 - Nov. 23 Michigan 225 - Nov. 23 New Mexico 99 - - 1961 March 16 England 56 - March 23–30 Florida 250 - April 18 Eagle River, Wis. Pancakes 226 - July New Mexico 57 - July 23 Pacific Ocean 103 - August Los Alamos, N.M. 177 - Oct. 2 Salt Lake City, Utah 245 - Oct. 17 Netherlands Antilles 57 - - 1962 April 18 Eureka, Utah 189 - Sep. 9 England Blue rain 234 - Sep. 11 Sebree, Ky. 223 - - - - -INDEX - - - A - - Accra, Africa, 50 - - Adamski, G., 16, 203, 204, 278 - - Aerial Phenomena Group, U. S. Air Force, 2, 271, 272. - _See also_ ATIC - - Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO), 181, 219, 235–36, 275, - 278 - - Aerospace Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC), 2, 271. - _See also_ ATIC - - After-image, 242 - - Air Defense Command, 72, 94, 139, 160, 162, 166, 167 - - Air Force, U. S., 2, 272–75; - APRO challenge to, 235–36; - conspiracy charges against, 69–70, 277–78. - _See also_ ATIC - - Air Force pilots, UFO sightings by, 70–72, 112, 113 - - Akron, Ohio, 53, 280 - - Alamogordo, N.M., 92 - - Alaska, 60, 152 - - Aldebaran, 253, 254 - - _Almirante Saldanha_, 207 ff - - Aluminum foil, 164, 224, 225 - - Alvarez, L. W., 139 - - _Amazing Stories_ magazine, 15, 16–21, 25 - - American Airlines flights, UFOs reported from, 52, 68 - - American Meteor Society, 88, 95, 111, 134, 135 - - American Meteorite Museum, 102, 176 - - Analyses of UFO “fragments,” 220, 231–34, 236 - - Angel hair, 220–26; - alleged origins of, 194, 221; - arachnid, 220–24; - industrial, 224 - - “Angels” on radar, Pl. IVc; - collision course of, 153–54; - defined, 151; - conditions producing, 157–60, 164, 170; - moisture inversion and, 151, 158–60; - possible causes of, 157–58; - ring, 150, 165–66; - temperature inversion and, 151–52, 158–60; - UFO reports based on, 5–6, 71, 72, 151–52, 155–57, 161, 164–71, 182 - - Ann Arbor, Mich., 241 - - Antigravity, 195 - - Aquarid meteors, 111, 134 - - _Armillaria mellea_, 119 - - Arnold, K., articles by, 15; - Maury Island investigation by, 22; - UFO sighting by, 13, 26, 28, 29 - - Artificial gravitational field, 10, 193. - _See also_ G-field - - Artificial satellites, 45, 116, 172–73, 277, 288 - - Asteroids, fragments of, 90 - - ATIC, UFO investigations by, 5, 38, 46, 54, 68, 70, 72, 76, 80, 106, - 108, 113, 126, 131, 135, 136, 141, 163, 169, 176, 182, 185, - 224, 236, 239, 241, 245, 247, 254, 281; - resources of, 272–73; - responsibility of, 271–75 - - Atlantis, 10, 17, 18 - - Aurora Borealis, radar echoes from, 164 - - - B - - Ball lightning, 176–80, Pl. Vb; - theory of, 178; - USSR reports of, 178 - - Balloon, pibal, 40; - radiosonde, 39–40, 163; - Skyhook, 31–33, 38, 49; - toy, 56 - - Balloons, burst, 48, 50; - clusters of, 41; - dogfight among, 47; - dogfight with, 42–44, 77–79; - shapes of, 32, 40–41; - UFO reports based on, 33–39, 42–44, 46, 47, 48, 80, 82 - - Barauna, A., 208 ff - - Barker, G., 24 - - Bellefontaine, Ohio, 162 - - Berkner, L. V., 139 - - Bethurum, T., 16, 201 - - Biot, J. B., 89, 289 - - Birds, light reflected from, 122, 125, 127, 130–32; - luminous, 118, 127; - migrations of, 127; - radar echoes from, 164–66; - UFO reports based on, 122–27, 130–32 - - Blip, defined, 5 - - Boulder, Colo., 249, Pl. VIIa - - Brazil, UFOs reported from, 184, 206, 207, 231–34, 236 - - Bubbles, UFO reports based on, 57, 58 - - Bubbles of air, angels produced by, 151 - - - C - - Capella, UFO reports based on, 161, 170–71, 253–54 - - Carbon 14, 221 - - Central Intelligence Agency, 70, 139, 278 - - Chant, C. A., 107 - - Chemical analysis, of meteorites, 90, 98; - of Moon Bridge, 230; - of pancakes, 227–48; - of saucer fragments, 232–34, 236 - - Chesapeake Bay, Va., UFOs reported over, 256–65 - - Chiles, C. S., 108 ff - - Chiles-Whitted sighting, 108–13 - - Cigar shape, 7, 95, 109, 243, 253 - - Cincinnati, Ohio, 67, 224 - - Civilian investigators of UFOs, 186, 275–78 - - Civilian Research Interplanetary Flying Objects (CRIFO), 67 - - Civilian scientists, panel of, 138–43; - report of, 142 - - “Classic” UFO, defined, 33 - - Clouds, grindstone, 26, Pl. Ia; - ice crystals in, 71, 164, 244, 247; - orographic, 26; - searchlights on, 263, 266, 283–85; - “stack of plates,” 26, Pl. Ib; - wave, 26–29 - - Clubs, flying saucer, 275–76 - - Coast Guard station, UFO photographed from, 122, Pl. IVa - - Coburn, Va., 224 - - Coincidence, role of in UFO sightings, 238–39 - - Coleman, W. T., 132, 252 - - Collision course, apparent, 60, 104, 106, 109, 113 - - Color, of meteors, 97–98; - of UFOs, 7 - - Comet, BOAC, 276 - - Comet Biela, 92 - - Comets, discovery of, 103; - meteors associated with, 90; - remnants of, 90, 98 - - Condensation trail, 50 - - Congress, U. S., 69 - - Congressional inquiry, requests for, 227, 277–78, 279 - - Conspiracy, allegations of, 11, 69–70, 276, 277 - - Contact stories, pattern of, 199–200 - - Contactees, 199–205, 277 - - Control by intelligence, apparent, 42, 60, 61, 80, 104, 110, 259 - - Copper in meteors, 98 - - Cosmic rays, power from, 10, 193 - - Coy, Cindy, 138 - - Cramp, L. G., 16 - - Craters, meteor, 100 - - Crisman, F. L., 21, 22 - - Cults, flying saucer, 108, 199, 201–2, 275–76 - - Curaçao, N.W.I., 57, Pl. IIa - - - D - - Dahl, H. A., 21 - - Danby, Calif., 243 - - _Day the Earth Stood Still_, UFO pictured in, 133 - - Defense, national, 147, 237, 271 - - Deflection, of radar beams, 151; - of starlight, 194 - - Dero, 18, 19, 22, 25 - - Discoverer VIII, 277 - - Disk shape, of meteors, 95, 99, 101; - of UFOs, 7, 13, 140, 280 - - Disks, flying, 13. - _See also_ UFO - - Distance, difficulty of estimating, 14, 41, 54, 81, 105–6, 110, 131, - 180, 260–61 - - Dogfight, balloons engaged in, 47; - Gorman, 77–85; - Guantánamo Bay, 42–44 - - Draconid meteors, 101 - - _Dracula’s Daughter_, 282, 283 - - Ducting conditions, 6 - - Duluth, Minn., 72 - - Duplicity, charges of, 283–84, 287 - - - E - - Eagle River, Wis., 226 - - Early Warning System, 139, 158, 166 - - Earth, doughnut-shaped, 25 - - Eastern Airlines flights, UFOs reported from, 109–10, 250 - - Echo machine, radar as, 147–48 - - Echo satellite, 45 - - Echoes, radar. _See_ Angels - - Einstein, Albert, 18, 191, 195 - - Electrical appliances, E-M interference with, 173, 184, 186–87; - meteor interference with, 185, 189 - - Electromagnetic (E-M) effects, NICAP study of, 186–88 - - Electromagnetic force, 172–75, 188 - - Electromagnetic phenomena, reports of, 173, 181, 184–87 - - Ellsworth Air Force Base, 167 - - England, blue rain in, 234; - invisible UFOs in, 165 - - Eureka, Utah, 189 - - Evidence, nature of, 4–6 - - Extraterrestrial beings, possible communication with, 3, 216–17 - - Extraterrestrial visitors, alleged signals from, 11, 165; - appearance of, 200, 201; - languages used by, 183, 200, 203; - reported contact with, 183–84, 186, 199–200, 203–4 - - - F - - Fallacies about meteors, 96–97 - - False targets on radar. _See_ Angels - - Farmington, N.M., 48–49 - - _Fate_ magazine, 15, 16, 22 - - Fear of the unknown, 121–23 - - Film, UFOs found on, 247–50, Pls. VIIb, VIIIa, VIIIb - - Fireball, of Sept. 18, 1954, 92–93; - “Sunshine,” 135 - - Fireballs, 103–6; - clusters of, 104–7; - conference on, 94; - green, 92–95, 97, 98; - official records of, 88–89, 95–96, 99; - slow, 92, 99, 107–8 - - Fitzgerald sighting, 279–88 - - Flower and Cook Observatory, 111 - - Flying bird cage, 241–42 - - Flying egg, 175, 181–82, 184 - - Flying hubcap, 205 - - Flying saucer, clubs, 275–76; - defined, 2; - first report of, 13. - _See also_ UFO - - _Flying Saucers_ magazine, 24–25, 227, 276 - - Foo balls, 73 - - Force field, 172, 190, 191, 221 - - Fort, C., 1, 2, 3, 10, 16, 18, 20 - - Fort Itaipu, Brazil, 173, 184 - - Fort Pierce, Fla., 250 - - Fortenberry, W. H., 256, 258, 259 - - Fragments of alleged UFOs, 23, 219–20, 230, 231–33, 235–36 - - France, angel hair reported in, 220–22; - UFO photographed in, 123, Pl. IVb - - Fraud, in contact stories, 202 - - Friction, atmospheric, 194 - - Friend, R. J., 127 - - Fry, D. W., 200 - - - G - - Gainesville, Fla., 51 - - Galileo, 191, 192, 276 - - Geminid meteors, 6, 98, 101 - - G-field, plane crash attributed to, 154; - propulsion by, 190, 193; - theory of, 190–95 - - G-field beam, reversed, 154 - - Ghosts, radar. _See_ Angels - - Godman Air Force Base, 33–39 - - Gorman, G. F., UFO sighting by, 77–80 - - Gossamer, 220. - _See also_ Angel hair - - Goudsmit, S. A., 139 - - Gravity, force of, 18, 195–96; - law of, 195; - negative, 195; - self-contained, 202; - shield for, 194–95 - - Green fireballs, 92–95, 97, 98; - Los Alamos conference on, 94 - - Greenland, phantom targets in, 166 - - Griffis Air Force Base, 68 - - Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, 42–44 - - Gulf of Mexico, 5–6, 182 - - Gulliver, L., 172 - - - H - - Hamilton Air Force Base, 46 - - Hanford, Wash., 135 - - Harvard College Observatory, 111, 113, 175 - - Height-finding radar, 153, 156, 162, 163 - - Herget, P., 67 - - Hermanas, N.M., 47 - - _Hidden World_, 25 - - Hoax, Ilha dos Amores, 206; - Maury Island, 21–23; - Schmidt, 183; - Scoutmaster, 136–37; - Shaver, 17–21 - - Hoaxes, 198–99, 219; - photographic, 203–7, Pls. VIa, VIb, 213–16; - UFO, 199 - - Humidity, inversions of, 151, 157–58 - - Hynek, J. A., 37, 108, 111, 113, 127, 141, 273 - - - I - - Ice crystals, radar echoes from, 71, 164; - sundogs from, 244, 247 - - Ices, vaporizing, 94 - - Icy cometoid, 90, 98, 101 - - Ilha dos Amores, 206 - - Inertia, law of, 194–95 - - Inference, distinguished from observation, 5–6, 74; - limitations of, 4–5 - - Insects, radar echoes from, 164–65 - - Institute of Meteoritics, 93, 102, 175 - - Intelligence, apparent control of UFOs by, 61, 80, 110, 168, 259 - - Intercontinental ballistic missiles, meteors as possible, 105; - radar angels as possible, 166 - - Interplanetary travel, 19, 77–78, 216–17. - _See also_ Spacecraft - - Inversions, moisture, 157–58; - temperature, 65, 253–54, 269 - - Investigations, Congressional, 227, 277–78, 279 - - Investigators, Air Force, 271–75; - civilian, 275–77 - - Invisible UFOs, reports of, 145, 152, 155, 165, 193, 202 - - Ionization, defined, 194; - angel hair produced by, 221; - radio interference by, 92, 178, 185, 187, 189 - - - J - - James, R. L., 152, 156 - - Japan, UFOs reported from, 73–75 - - Jessup, M. K., 10, 16 - - Jet planes, UFO reports based on, 50, 51, 52–56, 251 - - Johannesburg, South Africa, 51 - - Jupiter, mirages of, 81–85, 141–42; - seen through jet trail, 85–86 - - - K - - Kearney, Nebr., 183 - - Kentucky, UFO over, 58, Pl. IIb - - Keyhoe, D. E., 10, 16, 69, 159, 276, 277 - - Killian case, 52–56 - - Kinross case, 154 - - Kites, UFO reports based on, 56–57, Pl. IIa - - Korea, UFO reports from, 73–75 - - Khrushchev, 166, 235 - - Kuiper, G. P., 230 - - - L - - “Landings” of spacecraft, 180, 183–85, 203–4, 239 - - La Paz, L., 93, 102, 175 - - Laputa, 172 - - Las Cruces, N.M., 267 - - Lemuria, 10, 17, 18, 200 - - Lens, defects in photographic, 123, 248, Pls. VIIIa, VIIIb; - of air, 63, 83, 255 - - Leonid meteors, 90, 92 - - Levelland, Tex., UFOs, 174–76, 179 - - Liddell, U., 31 - - _Life_ magazine, 95, 129, 134, 259, 268 - - Life, possibility of extraterrestrial, 4, 216–17, 269 - - Light, deflection of, 194; - refraction of, 63–66; - velocity of, 19, 150 - - Lightning, ball, 176–80, Pl. Vb; - pinched, 177, Pl. Va; - types of, 177 - - Lights, Lubbock, 123–27; - reflections of, 127; - unfamiliar, 52–56, 240–41, 250–52; - rotating, 73–75 - - Lincoln, Nebr., 178 - - “Little Men,” 199, 220 - - Lock Raven Dam, 180 - - Logical defect, in UFO beliefs, 143 - - _Look_ magazine, 134, 210, 259 - - Lorenzen, C., 181, 235, 236 - - Los Alamos, N.M., 177; - conference on fireballs, 94 - - Lubbock lights, 123–27 - - Luminosity, of birds, 118–27; - of fungi, 119–20; - of meteors, 99–100, 106–7 - - - M - - Magnesium, in meteors, 98; - in UFO fragments, 236 - - Magnetic field, 172, 192 - - Magnetic force, island propelled by, 172; - UFOs attached by, 49 - - Magnetic lines of force, plane crash attributed to, 192–93 - - Magnetism, 18, 172–73, 192, 195–96 - - Maney, C. A., 260 - - Manhattan Beach, Calif., 49 - - Mantell case, 33–39, 192, 247 - - Mars, as space base, 76; - comfort-loving creatures on, 216; - mirages of, 76, 253; - opposition of, 76; - possibility of intelligent life on, 269; - spaceship orbit from, 77–78 - - Marysville, Ohio, 222 - - Maury Island hoax, 21–23 - - Menger, H., 202 - - Menzel, D. H., 73, 92, 95, 175, 210, 230, 245, 249, 254 - - Meteor processions, 107–8 - - Meteor showers, 90–93, 111, 134; - dates of, 91 - - Meteor trail, luminous, 88, 92, 96, 100, 107; - photograph of, 99, Pl. IIIa - - Meteorites, composition of, 90, 98, 101; - recovery of, 101–3 - - _Meteoritics_, meteors recorded in, 88–89, 95–96, 99 - - Meteors, colors of, 97–98; - exploding, 96, 100, 104, 230, 236; - false beliefs about, 96–97; - formations of, 104, 106–7; - luminosity of, 99–100, 106–7; - numbers seen, 111, 134, 135; - odors from, 89; - paths of, 98–99, Pl. IIIa; - radio and TV interference by, 185, 187, 189; - sounds made by, 96, 100–1; - spectra of, 94, 97–98; - structure of, 98, 100–1; - UFO reports based on, 88, 108–13, 185, 239–40; - velocity of, 93, 98, 106 - - Michel, A., 10, 16 - - Mirage, of Chicago skyline, 254; - of mountain peaks, 26–27; - on gun-barrel highway, 254–55 - - Mirages, causes of, 63–66, 255; - of planets, 66–67, 81–85, 141–42, 253; - of stars, 60–62, 161, 170–71, 253–54; - on radar, 151–52 - - Missiles, UFOs interpreted as, 93–95, 166, 231 - - Mock sun, 38, 244–47 - - Moisture, inversions of, 151, 157–58 - - Monster, New Jersey, 198; - West Virginia, 137–38 - - Moon, hidden side of, 203; - inhabitants of, 202–3; - planet hidden by, 201; - radar echoes from, 164, 166, 167; - UFO base on, 228; - underground cities on, 228 - - Moon Bridge, 228–30; - spectrographic analysis of, 230 - - Moonwatch, 190, 228 - - Moore, O., 185 - - Mother ship, 115, 199, 201 - - Mu, 18 - - Mummified men, 219 - - Murray, Ky., 96 - - Mushrooms, luminous, 119–20; - odor of, 120 - - Myth, G-field, 193–95 - - - N - - Nash, W. B., 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 262, 264 - - Nash-Fortenberry case, 256–65 - - National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), 45, - 276–78. - _See also_ NICAP - - Negative gravity, 195 - - New Haven, Conn., 231 - - New Mexico, green fireballs in, 92, 93–95 - - Newton, Isaac, 18, 191, 194, 195 - - NICAP, E-M effects studied by, 186–88; - membership of, 277; - pancakes studied by, 226–28; - Ryan case studied by, 69–70 - - Nike site, UFO reported from, 239 - - Nininger, H. H., 102, 176 - - Norfolk, luminous owls of, 118–19 - - Norton County, Kansas, meteor fall at, 102–3 - - Norway, 248, Pl. VIIb - - - O - - Odessa, Wash., 62 - - Office of Scientific Intelligence, 139, 142, 143 - - Olivier, C. P., 95 - - Orbit of Martian spaceship, 77–78 - - Orogrande, N.M., 181 - - Owls, luminous, 118–19 - - Ozma, Project, 216–17 - - - P - - Pacific ocean, 105–6 - - Page, T. W., 139, 287 - - Palmer, R. A., 15–21, 23, 26, 227 - - Pan American Airlines flights, UFOs reported from, 103, 104–6, 256 - - Pancakes, extraterrestrial, 226–28 - - Panel of civilian scientists, 138–43; - report of, 142 - - Panic, growth of 1952, 133–35; - growth of 1957, 174–76 - - Paracelsus, 172 - - Parallel universes, 9 - - Pelicans, UFO report based on, 130 - - Perseid meteors, 98, 111, 134 - - Phantoms, radar. _See_ Angels - - Phosphorescent organisms, 119–20 - - Photographs, UFOs in, 122, 130–32, 205–7, 248; - by gun-camera, 162–63, 168, 170 - - Photography, trick, 205, 209, 212, 215 - - Pibal, 40, 46 - - _Pile d’assiettes_, 26, Pl. Ib - - Pilots, UFOs reported by, 70, 92, 103–6, 109–10, 250, 256 - - Pinched lightning, 177, Pl. Va - - Plane crashes attributed to UFOs, 11, 23, 35, 154, 192, 276 - - Planets, extra-solar, 10, 217; - mirages of, 66–76, 81–85, 141–42, 253 - - Plank, V. G., 158 - - Plato, 18 - - Port Huron, Mich., 160 - - Presque Isle, Me., 139 - - Probability, methods of, 187–88 - - Project Ozma, 216 - - Project Twinkle, 94 - - Propulsion, theories of UFO, 190–93 - - Publications, UFO, 67, 275–76 - - Puerto Rico fireball, 99, Pl. IIIb - - - R - - Radar, as reporter, 145–47; - experiments in, 152–53, 157–60; - principle of, 147–50; - ring angels on, 165–66 - - Radar echoes, from ice crystals, 71, 164; - from moon, 164, 167; - interpretation of, 145–47; - possible sources of, 164. - _See also_ Angels - - Radarscope, mechanism of, 146 - - Radar-visual UFOs, 160–63, 167–71 - - Radio astronomy, 216 - - Radio noise from space, 217 - - Radio-TV failures, 181, 184–87 - - Radio waves, behavior of, 153; - scatter of, 153, 164; - secondary reflection of, 154, 158; - velocity of, 150 - - Radioactivity, 35, 80, 137, 172, 185 - - Radiosonde, 39–40, 163 - - Rain, blue, 234; - silver, 231–34 - - Rapid City, S.D., 167–70 - - Red Bluff, Calif., 253 - - Reflections, multiple, 263, 266; - UFOs from, 242–44, 248, 249–50, Pls. VIIa, VIIb - - Refraction, atmospheric, 63–66, 269; - of radar beams, 158–60 - - Refractive index, 159, 160 - - Rheims, France, 245 - - Ring angels, 156, 165–66 - - Robertson, H. P., 139 - - Robins Air Force Base, 112 - - Rocket, reported as UFO, 44–45 - - Rosalia, Wash., 46 - - Rotating lights of Japan, 73–75 - - Ruppelt, E. J., 126, 127, 133, 167 - - Russia, ball lightning in, 178 - - Ryan case, 68–70 - - - S - - Salina, Kans., 164, Pl. IVc - - Salt Lake City, Utah, 245–47 - - Samford, J. A., 157 - - Satellites, artificial, 116, 172, 173, 277; - natural, 108 - - Saturn, visitors from, 183, 186, 200, 203 - - Saturn-like UFOs, 7, 206, 207, 214 - - Saucer. _See_ UFO - - Saucerdom, myths of, 10–11, 193–95 - - Scatter of radar beams, 164, 170–71 - - Schilling Air Force Base, 164, Pl. IVc - - Schmidt, R., 183 - - Science, methods of, 3, 289 - - Science fiction, 1, 9, 17, 19, 23–25, 200 - - Scientists, views on UFOs, 139, 142, 143, 215, 269–70, 287 - - Scoutmaster, UFO reported by, 136 - - Scully, F., 16 - - Sea gulls, UFO reports based on, 121–22, 130–32, 213 - - Searchlights on clouds, 263, 266, 283, 285 - - _Sebago_, U. S. Coast Guard cutter, 182 - - Sebree, Ky., 223 - - Secondary reflection of radar beam, 154, 158 - - Secrecy, alleged Air Force, 37, 69–70, 154, 157, 283; - alleged government, 202 - - Security, national, 147, 271, 275, 289 - - Shapes of UFOs, 7–8, 206–7 - - Shaver hoax, 17–21, 25 - - Sheep Rock saucer, 224 - - Sheffield Lake, Ohio, 279 - - Siberian meteor of 1908, 100, 101 - - Silver iodide, 225 - - Silver rain, 231–34 - - “Simultaneous” radar-visual UFO sightings, 5–6, 72, 160–63, 167–71, - 182 - - Sirius, mirages of, 61–63 - - Size, difficulty of estimating UFO, 14, 54, 131, 181, 260 - - Skyhooks, 31–33 - - Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 57, 99, 175, 273 - - Sound, associated with meteors, 96, 100–1; - associated with UFOs, 7, 193; - velocity of, 147 - - Spacecraft, bases for, 228; - “landings” by, 183–85, 203–4, 239; - motive power of, 192–93; - occupants of, 183, 199, 200, 203, 220, 226; - signals from, 11, 165; - theories about, 10–11, 190–95 - - Spectra of meteors, 94, 97–98 - - Spiders, angel hair produced by, 220–24 - - Sputnik II, 116, 173 - - St. Elmo’s fire, 176 - - Stack, formations, 49, 257, 265–66; - of coins, 49; - of plates, 26 - - Stars, hypothetical planets of, 10, 216 - - Statistical summaries of UFO cases, 274 - - Stones from heaven, 89, 289 - - Sundogs, 38, 244–47 - - Superrefractive conditions, 159 - - Sutton, W. Va., monster, 137 - - Sylacauga, Ala., meteorite, 88, 230 - - - T - - Tacker, L. J., 235, 236 - - Taormina, Sicily, 205, Pl. VIa - - Taurid meteors, 90, 101, 189 - - Temperature inversions, displacement of image by, 65; - low-level, 155, 157; - mirages caused by, 82, 157, 170, 253–54, 269; - multiple, 82, 158, 253; - radar angels from, 151, 158–60, 170 - - Tero, 19, 25 - - Texarkana, Ark., 166 - - Tin, in alloys, 234; - in saucer fragments, 232 - - Tombaugh, 256, 266–70; - UFO reported by, 268 - - Trans World Airlines flight, UFOs reported from, 70 - - Travel, interplanetary, 19, 77–78, 216–17; - in time, 11 - - Tremonton, Utah, movies, 130–32 - - Trindade Island UFO, 206–16, Pl. VIb - - _True_ magazine, 158 - - Truth, alleged Air Force concealment, 37, 69–70, 107, 154, 157–58, - 220, 277, 283 - - Tumbleweeds, as UFOs, 57 - - TV set, malfunction of, 185. - _See also_ E-M effects - - - U - - UFO, as misnomer, 271; - defined, 2 - - UFO reports, Air Force study of, 272–75; - commonest explanations of, 105–6, 275; - witnesses making, 2, 272 - - UFO Research Committee of Akron, Ohio, 276, 279, 281, 288; - Fitzgerald case studied by, 283–87; - Killian case studied by, 53 - - UFOs, colors of, 7; - electromagnetic, 172–75; - formations of, 114–16; - fragments of, 88, 230–37; - invisible, 10, 145, 152, 155–57, 165, 193, 194, 202; - motions of, 7; - radar reports of, 5, 152, 155–57; - shapes of, 7–8; - silence of, 193; - sounds made by, 7, 193; - types of, 6–9; - velocity of, 13, 124, 129, 161, 193, 194, 258 - - Unidentified flying object, 2. - _See also_ UFOs - - Unified field theory, 196 - - United Airlines flights, UFO reported from, 92, 105 - - Unknowns, 274. - _See_ UFOs - - - V - - Van Tassel, G. W., 201, 202 - - Vapor lock, 188, 190 - - Velocity, difficulty of estimating UFO, 14, 41, 131; - of light, 19, 150; - of meteors, 93, 98–100; - of radio waves, 150; - of sound, 147 - - Venus, magnitude of, 66; - mirages of, 67–75, 181; - visitors from, 203 - - Visitors, extraterrestrial, 4, 10–11, 183–84, 186, 199–200, 203–4 - - - W - - Wallops Island, Va., 44–45 - - Washington, D.C., “invasion,” 155–57 - - Washington, Ga., 225 - - Wave clouds, 26–29 - - Weather, effects on radar, 150–51, 154, 155, 157–58 - - Weather balloons, 31–33. - _See also_ Balloons - - White, T. D., 237 - - White Pass, Wash., 28, Pl. Ia - - White Sands, N.M., 92, 180 - - Whitted, J. B., 108. - _See also_ Chiles-Whitted sighting - - Wilkins, H. P., 228 - - Wilkins, H. T., 16 - - Witnesses, UFO beliefs of, 52, 54, 80, 104, 106, 110, 168, 259, 269 - - Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, UFO sighted from, 70–72 - - - X - - Xenochemistry, 231 - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes - - -Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a -predominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they -were not changed. - -Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced quotation -marks were remedied when the change was obvious, and otherwise left -unbalanced. - -Illustrations in this eBook have been positioned between paragraphs -and outside quotations. - -Each Plate in the original book contained two or three photographs and -one shared caption. In this eBook, each photograph has its own caption. - -This book uses endnotes following each chapter. In the original book, -the endnote numbers began at “1” for each chapter. In this eBook, those -numbers are retained, but are preceded by the chapter number and a -hyphen to make them unique. - -A few endnotes include an “a” suffix. - -Many references to endnotes that reference another book are followed by -a pair of square brackets containing the page number in that other book. - -The book also has four footnotes that originally were at the bottoms of -pages, but have been moved here to follow the paragraphs that reference -them. They use simple “abcd” references. - -The superscript on page 194 is shown as ^{33} and the subscripts in -Figure 8 are shown as _{1} or _{2}. - -Three endnotes are unreferenced (XII-14, XIII-2 and XIII-6); several -are referenced more than once. - -The index was not systematically checked for proper alphabetization or -correct page references. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WORLD OF FLYING -SAUCERS *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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