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In recent summers throughout the United States there has been a considerable wave of
interest in the phenomena, known popularly as "flying saucers". The members of the
press have devoted considerable space to the phenomena. As a result, the public has
developed an interest in this matter which has few precedents. Yet little has been
done to adequately screen information and to aid in presenting a scientific
appraisal of this phenomena to the general public. There appeared to be need for
some private institution to objectively collect data and to distribute reports of
the results of careful study to the public. For this reason, Ohio Northern
University decided to initiate Project A, Investigation of Phenomena in order to
accomplish the following basic objectives.
BASIC OBJECTIVES:
1. To objectively collect data from all possible sources dealing with "flying
saucers". To analyze this data in various of the departments of the university.
2. To make public the results of research of a private institution unhampered by
bureaucratic restrictions.
3. To stimulate and promote objective study of all types of illusory phenomena by
individual observers. To issue a report in which the steps taken by our
researchers are outlined in order to aid in instructing the general public in
the process of thinking according to the scientific method. It is hoped that
this will lead to more logical appraisal of phenomena observed in all walks of
life.
4. To aid (in connection with Objective #3) in creating more
accurate observers for the civilian air defense program.
METHODS:
1. The first step was that of collection of data.
This data was requested through the media of the press from all persons who
had sighted "flying saucers". This data
was collected on standard forms listing specific information required in our study.
2. All data collected was categorized according to geographical
location, type of sighting, day or night observation, size, number of
witnesses, etc.
3. This information was to be analyzed and synthesized by
various departments of the University according to the approach to the problem
employed by experts in each of the following fields:
This wide dispersal of fields was to enable an objective and scholarly study of
this phenomena from the approach of sociological and psychological conditioning
to the study of metals which could withstand the stress and heat an object would
be subjected to if it were to follow the pattern established by the sightings of
illusory phenomena.
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4. A progress report was to be publicized as soon as possible
after the collection of data. This report was to record the
number and type of sightings listed with Project A at Ohio Northern University
and it was to outline the first steps being taken by each department in its
handling of data. Another report was to be
issued, probably at the end of the first year of research, which was to include
articles by each individual working on this project. These articles were to
outline the methods used and the results obtained by the specialist in that
department. This report was to be as complete as possible and was to be
drafted in non-technical terms whenever possible. Dissemination of
information to the public was to be made between reports whenever
particularly outstanding sightings, photographs, or research material
were available.
SUMMARY OF OBJECTIVES AND METHODS:
Project A of Ohio Northern University aimed to collect information such as was being
collected by the United States Air Force in order to coordinate the study of this
information by experts of many fields and then to disseminate this information to
the general public. Special stress was to be made on the efforts employed in the
hope that this was to be a step forward in adult education in the analyzing of all
type of phenomena in the future.
PUBLIC COOPERATlON:
Many persons contacted Project A shortly after announcement of its objectives was
made to the press. For the past seven months, letters have arrived requesting
information with regard to our findings. Some other correspondents have enclosed
statements of their own theories concerning the phenomena. We have
appreciated the interest evidenced by these sincere correspondents.
Unfortunately, however, these correspondents have far outnumbered those persons
who have sent sighting data to Project A. Only fifty-four sightings
have been reported to Project A in seven months of investigation.
The staff of Project A have collected newspaper clippings from all corners of
the United States and with the cooperation of foreign language publications and
other interested parties who are listed later in this report, we
have obtained newspaper and periodical information from abroad.
When names and addresses were mentioned in these articles, we dispatched a
Project A sighting report immediately to the individual concerned.
Therefore, many more sighting report forms were dispatched than have been
returned to Project A. Our interpretation of the reason for this poor
response is included later in this report. The cooperation of the press
and radio was far greater than had been expected by the staff of Project A.
The lack of sighting data collected by Project A is in no way a reflection on
the cooperation of the press. In fact all sighting data
received was directly or indirectly from contact made by the press or radio.
Likewise, other groups organized within the United States to investigate "flying
saucers" have offered their cooperation.
In the second section of this report entitled Analysis and Evaluation of Sighting
Data, we have attempted to present all pertinent information forwarded to Project A
with a brief analysis of that material.
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ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF SIGHTING DATA
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BREAKDOWN OF 54 SIGHTINGS:
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| By Month: | ||||||
| January | 1 | July | 12 | |||
| February | 1 | August | 13 | |||
| March | 0 | September | 10 | |||
| April | 3 | October | 4 | |||
| May | 2 | November | 4 | |||
| June | 3 | December | 1 | |||
| By Geographical Location: | ||||||
| Ohio | 11 | Illinois | 17 | |||
| Texas | 11 | Canada | 2 | |||
| Kentucky | 4 | Washington, DC | 1 | |||
| Virginia | 3 | Missouri | 1 | |||
| Connecticut | 3 | South Dakota | 1 | |||
| Michigan | 3 | California | 1 | |||
| New Mexico | 3 | Arkansas | 1 | |||
| Indiana | 1 | |||||
| By Time: | ||||||
| Daylight | 20 | |||||
| Night | 30 | |||||
| Dusk | 4 | |||||
| By Weather Conditions: | ||||||
| Clear | 48 | |||||
| Cloudy | 6 | |||||
| By Witnesses: | ||||||
| Sighting made by one person | 28 | |||||
| Sighting made by group of persons | 26 | |||||
| By Distance: | ||||||
| Close enough for detailed description | 5 | |||||
| Distant | 49 | |||||
| By Shape or Form: | ||||||
| Disc | 39 | |||||
| Sphere | 9 | |||||
| Cylinder | 3 | |||||
| Other | 3 | |||||
| By Audible Sound: | ||||||
| Audible Sound Evident | 4 | |||||
| No audible sound evident | 50 | |||||
Page 3 (sic) (4)
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EVALUATION OF DATA
With only fifty-four sightings reported to Project A, it has been impossible for
the staff to make a scientific study of this project. Unless at least
two hundred sightings are reported, it is impossible to make a scientific
sampling of the material that has been received by the staff. The
number, fifty-four, is such a small group of the total number of sightings
reported in the United States by the press that there would be no way to
determine whether or not these were representative samplings.
However, in general, the clippings collected by Project
A have corresponded in their results to the information received from
the fifty-four sightings, therefore, we are able to draw certain very
general conclusions with regard to "flying saucer" sightings.
However, it has been impossible with the very limited data to more than
draw general conclusions. These general conclusions
are as follows:
1. From the fifty-four sightings broken down above and
from newspaper accounts, the sightings occur largely during the months of
July, August, and September. Very few sightings occur from December
through May. Early summer and early autumn bring some sightings,
but most have occurred during the height of the
summer. It will be noted that this ties in with the weather conditions
referred to by persons sighting phenomena.
2. The sightings reported from the State of Ohio led in
number. This is not the
general trend throughout the nation according to collected press reports.
The reason more reports were received from Ohio was that the local Ohio
press and radio gave more emphasis to the project which was conducted by an
Ohio university. Therefore, more persons were made aware of this project
in the State of Ohio than any other state, according to our limited
information. The State of Texas returned the second highest number of
sighting reports. We have noted that the coverage by the press in Texas was
quite thorough. This no doubt was owing to the fact that most sightings in
the nation have occurred in the State of Texas and the press and the public
there are more concerned with the problem than are the press and public in
some of the other states. The Kentucky region has been reached by some of
the Ohio press. In the case of Virginia and Connecticut, the persons
contacting us stated that they had learned of Project A through the broadcast
by Mr. Frank Edwards of the Mutual Broadcasting System. The case of
Michigan is similar to that of Kentucky, in that the Ohio press reaches into the
Michigan area. The remaining states have sent in very few sighting reports,
but in all cases they have been notified either by the press or by persons
who have read of this project and corresponded with tho person who sent us
the sighting report. The nationwide trend, discounting the Ohio receipts of
this project, indicates that most sightings occur in the southwestern part of
the United States.
3. A large number of the sightings were daylight sightings
which discounts somewhat the theory of stars and navigation lights on aircraft.
The majority of the sightings however, are night sightings which may be due to
the fact that persons are attracted by a moving light at night more than
by a moving object in the skies during bright daylight.
4. Forty-eight of the sightings out of fifty-four appeared
in clear weather. Press accounts indicate that this is the trend
throughout the country. This
may also be due to the fact that the sightings occur during July, August, and
September when the weather tends to be more clear than during the rest of
the year. The combination of the geographical location, time of the year, and
weather conditions seem to indicate also that there might be similar phenomena
throughout the year, but that the conditions for observation were ideal
during these particular months.
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5. The breakdown of witnesses is almost a fifty-fifty breakdown.
This has been of
considerable help in that there have been more than one witness to some of
these sightings and the comparison of their sighting reports has indicated
that various members of the group reacted in the same way to the phenomena.
6. Only five of the fifty-four sighting reports were from
persons who witnessed the phenomena from a sufficiently close range to give
an accurate description of an object. The other forty-nine sighting
reports were valuable from the point of view of data on location, time
of the year, weather conditions, and other similar data, but have not been
able to furnish information which would aid in any other scientific appraisal
of the object. When objects are sighted at a distance of several
miles and the witness is not able to judge altitude at that distance,
it is also very difficult to get an estimate of
speed or shape.
7. The shape indicated by thirty-nine persons was
that of a disc, nine indicated a sphere, three a cylinder, and three
other shapes. This tends to follow the national trend described
in the daily press, and over the radio. This leads
us to believe that the shape of the phenomena is that of a disc. The
majority of persons have observed the object over a course which revealed its
shape to be that of a disc. However, if the object remained fairly
stationary, or did not change its particular position while traveling in a
horizontal line, and was in the shape of a disc standing in a vertical
position with relation to the earth, that disc would appear as a sphere.
Likewise, if the disc was in a horizontal position with relation to the earth,
the edge would be all that appeared to a witness and the shape of a cylinder
would be observed. However, no sphere or cylinder would be likely to
appear as a disc.
8. Only four persons noted audible sound.
The audible sound was reported by pilots who were at approximately the
same altitude as the disc sighted by those pilots. All persons
sighting the disc from any great distance referred to the fact that no
sound was evident.
ANALYSIS:
Most of the forty-four sightings concurred with the press accounts prevalent in the
nation in that they indicated a very high speed whenever the object sighted was in
motion. The speeds would exceed that of several hundreds or thousands of miles
per hour. This would indicate that if the object were a material object rather
than a light reflection, ionized air, etc. that this particular object would be at
a very great altitude. An object traveling through the earth's atmosphere at a
speed of a thousand or several thousand miles an hour would set up shock waves and
sound waves which would be far greater than those set up by the modern jet aircraft.
Those sound waves would not be set up by any motor or other form of motive power
but by the very speed of the object itself. This would be similar to the noise of
the V-12 rocket or an artillery shell multiplied many times. Such a sound should
be evident several miles from the object. However, if the object had sufficient
altitude to be above the layer of atmosphere usually employed by standard aircraft,
there would be less severe sound waves set up. The detailed descriptions of persons
who observed objects as they were leaving the earth or as they were observed in
flight are very similar.
A wooden model was received from one group of witnesses, a drawing was received
from Canada, another from Texas, sketches were sent in by persons in other
areas. The sketches accompanying this report seem to be standard as far as most
press accounts and as far as the sighting reports sent to this project.
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A pattern of flight has been described by persons who claim to have observed objects
rising from the earth's surface. This pattern is that of an object which slowly
rises vertically from the earth, then moves in a horizontal line for a short
distance, again rises vertically, then again follows a horizontal path, end in a
series of steps reaches a desired altitude before accelerating to a very high rate
of speed.
Circumstances surrounding some sightings indicate that the observers probably
sighted the lights on aircraft approaching airfields. Other observers may have
noted light reflections. Theories of atmospheric conditions probably will be the
answer to other sightings. However, there still remain those unexplained
sightings at close range. These sightings (see Appendix) made from
distances of seventy-five feet to a few hundred yards are not easy to explain.
All trained observers, including pilots, artillery air observers, and army
intelligence officers, have indicated to us that their sightings were of "objects".
This definite classification of a phenomenon, as a material object, is also made
by the observers who were within a few yards of the object sighted.
As those close sightings were usually of an object only a few feet above
the earth's surface the explanations of light reflection, cloud
formation, ionization, and similar natural phenomena become inapplicable.
It is primarily with these sightings that Project A has become concerned.
Unfortunately, these sightings have accounted for less than
twenty percent of the sighting report sheets returned to Project A.
This very small group of sightings, of course, cannot be the basis of a
detailed scientific analysis.
The accounts of several very reliable witnesses, some with experience as aerial
observers, indicate that the object sighted was not a conventional aircraft. Of
equal importance is the fact that whether the object was sighted in Canada, Ohio,
or Pennsylvania, tho description was very similar in each case. As
these persons were reliable, and had no contact with each other, more
credence can be lent to the details of their description and sketches
submitted by these parties.
In view of the limitations placed on tho scientific analysis of such evidence,
Project A is at this time reproducing two sketches that in general include the
characteristics described by all persons who claimed close sightings.
One further piece of evidence submitted by the trained observers, was the ability
of the object to change course radically at high speeds.
All close sightings reported that the dome (see Appendix) gave off an amber
light. At night the description was of a more red than amber color.
The rest of the disc was silver colored, save for a pale blue light
observed, almost as a haze, around the outer edge. At night this
blue or green color was described as being much brighter.
Some observers claim the brilliance was that of the blue-white observed
in an arc lamp.
There have been frequent statements that any unnatural phenomena, must be a new
form of weapon or aircraft designed by the United States Air Force.
Project A, finds two reasons to doubt that this explains all "objects" sighted.
(l) Sightings have been forwarded which were recorded with sketches as early
as 1938. This was in
an era well before the high speed of jet aircraft was attained.
(2) This fails to
account for sightings in Australia, Switzerland, Germany, South America, and Japan,
unless it is assumed that a secret test "weapon" is being employed in all these
nations.
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A study of letters accompanying the sighting reports gives indication as to why so
few reports were received. Many persons did not wish to have their names revealed,
and further stated that they were concerned over the possibility of being ridiculed
for their statements.
HOAXES:
As in all such projects, the staff of Project A was likely to be plagued by some
persons who wore either cranks or were attempting to continue a hoax.
Fortunately, most of those parties were not difficult to separate from sincere persons
cooperating with the project. Some models and photographs were received from
conscientious parties. On the other hand, some rather crudely
"touched up" photos were also received by Project A.
CREDITS:
The public response to Project A's appeal was evidence of the great aid rendered by
several members of the press and radio. Most of this response, as noted above,
was in the form of requests for information, and not in sighting reports.
Mr. Floyd Lattimore, of the Lima News and the Ada Herald, presented a factual
account of the objectives of Project A, which was responsible for wire service
stories in Texas, Canada, New Mexico, and other areas from which sighting
reports were forthcoming. Mr. Frank Edwards, of the Mutual Broadcasting System,
in presenting a second appeal for public cooperation, brought responses from
Connecticut, Virginia, and Washington, D. C. The publication Spiritual Life, of
Cleveland, Ohio, forwarded clippings from Australia, Germany, and Switzerland
which reported European sightings.
The Astronautical Society of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the Civilian Saucer
Investigation of Los Angeles, California, have been generously offered to share
information with Project A. Time Laboratories of Tecumseh, Michigan also have
contributed material to this investigation.
CONCLUSION:
Project A has been unable to attain enough data to attain all of its Basic
Objectives. Method #3, of attaining those objectives, has not been employed as had
been hoped, owing to the limited material available. However, Objective #2 is
being adhered to in so far as our available information is being released to the
public.
There appear to be several explanations for sightings recorded by Project A. Our
major conclusion to date is that no one explanation fits all sightings, and about
twenty percent of the sightings definitely fit the category of unnatural
phenomena. Probably a larger percentage fits this Category, but
insufficient evidence is available in these other cases to make a definite
statement to that effect.
Project A can do little until this summer, at which time, if the trend of the past
six summers is followed, there will be many new sightings reported.
At that time, if the parties who claim sightings will contact
Project A, the staff may be able to attain its original objectives.
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APPENDIX
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The following sketches are made from descriptions sent to Project A.
These are not the impressions of the staff of Project A nor are they
the interpretations the Project A has made through terms of what they
would have imagined to be the appearance of the "Flying Saucer".
Rather, these are accurate copies of information sent to Project A by
persons who have claimed to have sighted such phenomena.
Sections A and B both include the "dome" which is usually described as having
been amber in color. At night the color is more red than amber.
Practically all descriptions have included a statement of a pale blue haze
in the area of the cambered slots during the day time and a brilliant blue
or green light at night. In fact, the night sightings have
reported the blue as approaching the color of blue-white in some cases.
One observer has indicated that in Sketch A from a distance of about
seventy-five feet he observed that the underside was
concave. One sighting in the Philadelphia area has accounted
for Sketch B in which the underside is convex. The remainder
of the sightings appear as indicated in Sketch A.
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Various newspaper reports about "Project A" can
be read here.
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