investigator: Hartmann
Abstract:
Witness I reportedly saw a metallic-looking, disk-shaped UFO. She called her husband,
they located their camera, and he took photographs of the object before it disappeared in
the distance.
Background:
Time: 7:45 p.m. PST (1,2); 7:30 p.m. (3).
Position: Approx. 10 mi. SW of McMinnville, Ore. on the farm of the witnesses:
123 19' 50" W, 45 06' 15" N (7).
Terrain: Rolling farm country, elv. 210 ft.; houses several hundred meters apart (7).
Weather Conditions: Dull with an overcast at about. 5,000 ft. (2, confirmed by the
photos).
Sighting, General Information:
The sighting occurred in the back yard of a farm about 0.2 mi. S of the "Salmon
River Highway" (U.S. 99W (7). Witness was feeding rabbits in the back yard, S of the
house and E of the garage when the object was first sighted 1, 2, 3, 6). apparently toward
the NE (6). Witness 2 was apparently in the house at this moment, as three of the accounts
(2,3,6) refer to Witness I calling to him and running into the house to fetch him from the
kitchen, although one account (I ) states that they had "been out in the back
yard," and "both ... saw it at the same time."
As far as Witness I could remember 17 yr. later (6), the rabbits gave no indication of
disturbance.
Immediately after they both saw the object, apparently as it was still in a NE
direction, moving slowly toward the W (6), they thought of their camera (1,2,3,6). Witness
2 ran to the car, thinking it was there but Witness I remembered it was in the house and
brought it (1,6). Witness 2 took the camera, which was already loaded. The roll of film
had been purchased during the winter and already had two or three shots on it (4).
At this time "the object was coming in toward us and seemed to be tipped up a
little bit. It was very bright-almost silvery-and there was no noise or smoke" (1).
Witness 2 explained that he took the first picture, rewound his film as fast as
possible and then as the object gathered speed and turned toward the northwest, he had to
move rapidly to his right to get the second picture. Both were snapped within thirty
seconds, he estimated (1). According to another early reference: "[Witness 2]
elaborated, 'There wasn't any flame and it was moving fairly slow. Then I snapped the
first picture. It moved a little to the left and I moved to the right to take another
picture.' " (3). Plates 23 and 24 show the two photographs in the sequence taken.
During this interval the object was moving quite slowly, apparently almost hovering, and
it apparently shifted both its position and orientation in a complex way, changing
direction and tipping just before it moved away, as indicated in Plate 25 (2,6). However,
Witness I described it as "not undulating or rotating, just 'sort of gliding' "
(2). The UFO accelerated slowly during or 'just after the second photograph and moved away
rapidly toward the West ( 2). Witness I ran into the house to call her mother-in-law, got
no answer, and returned outside just in time to see the UFO 'dimly vanishing toward the
west' (2).
Investigation:
The witnesses described the object as "very bright-almost silvery" (1);
"brightly metallic, silver or aluminum colored, with a touch of bronze ... appeared
to have a sort of superstructure . . . 'like a good-sized parachute canopy without the
strings, only silvery-bright mixed with bronze' (2); silvery on top but with more bronze
on the bottom, the bottom being different (but, this being seventeen years later, Witness
I was unsure whether it was darker) . . . shiny but not as bright as a hub cap . . .
resembling a dull, aluminum-painted tank (which Witness I pointed out to the writer in our
interview) ... "awful pretty" (6). The rather bright, aluminum-like, but not
specular, reflecting surface appears to be confirmed by analysis of the photos (see
below). There was no noise, visible exhaust, flames, or smoke (1,3,6). When the object
tipped up, exposing its under side to the witnesses, they felt a gust of wind which they
thought may have come from the UFO. " '. . . there was a breeze as it went overhead .
. . which died down later' " (2). In the interview with the writer, Witness I
stressed this, remarking the wind was "about to knock you over," though Witness
11 (interviewed separately) remarked that it made only a "very little" breeze as
it was getting ready to fly off (6). As to size, speed, and distance, the witnesses were
reluctant to hazard a guess ( 1,2), as Witness 2 had no way of knowing its size (2),
although one of the references quotes Witness 2 as estimating a diameter of "20 or 30
ft." (3), and Witness I compared its appearance (though not explicitly its size) to a
parachute canopy (2,6).
As to the origin of the UFO, Witness 2 remarked both at the time and in 1967 that he
thought it was a secret U.S. craft (I)."..... you hear so much about those things . .
. I didn't believe all that talk about flying saucers before, but now I have an idea the
Army knows what they are"' (3).
Witness 2 recalls finishing his roll of film on Mother's Day (4) and had it developed
locally (1). Witness 2 mentioned his observation and showed the pictures to a few friends.
He did not seek publicity about the pictures, admitting that he was "'kind of scared-
of it"' (2,3), and "afraid they would get in trouble with the 'government' and
be bothered by the publicity" (2). However, McMinnville Telephone Register reporter
Bill Powell learned of the sighting from two McMinnville bankers. Ralph and Frank Wortman.
and followed up the story ( 1 ,2). He found the negatives "on the floor under a
davenport where the Witnesses' children had been playing with them" (2). The
Telephone Register broke the story Thursday. 9 June 1950 with a front page article
containing the two pictures and Editor's Note: "...in view of the variety of opinion
and reports attendant to the saucers over the past two years, every effort has been made
to check Trents' photos for authenticity. Expert photographers declared there has been no
tampering with the negatives. [The] original Photos were developed by a local firm. After
careful consideration, there appears to be no possibility of hoax or hallucination
connected with the pictures. Therefore the Telephone Register believes them authentic . .
." (1).
Various McMinnville residents, including the bankers Wortman, offered to sign
affidavits vouching unreservedly for the reputation and veracity of the witnesses (1,2,4).
On Friday and Saturday, 9 and 10 June, the Portland, Ore., and Los Angeles newspapers
carried the story (2,3). Life magazine carried the pictures the following week (4). The
witnesses accepted an invitation to appear on a television program "We the
People," in New York (6). Witness I remarked that they were encouraged by the people
responsible for this show to make statements they (the witnesses) regarded as inaccurate.
The witnesses, however, did not make such statements, but told only what they saw (6).
While in New York, the witnesses were to receive their negatives from Life magazine,
but were informed that the negatives were temporarily misplaced (6). Life promised to
return them by mail to Oregon, but apparently never recovered them (6). With the
cooperation of Life the Colorado project discovered that in 1950 the negatives had been in
the possession of International News Photo Service later merged with United Press
International. The project located the original negatives and was permitted to examine
them.
As mentioned above, various reputable individuals volunteered to attest to the
witnesses' veracity. They appear to be sincere, though not highly educated or experienced
observers. During the writer's interview with them, they were friendly and quite
unconcerned about the sighting. Witness 2 was at work plowing his field and did not even
get off his tractor. From interviews throughout this district one gained the impression
that these were very industrious farm people, not given to unusual pranks. Two inferences
appear to be ' justified: I ) It is difficult to see any prior motivation for a
fabrication of such a story, although after the fact, the witnesses did profit to the
extent of a trip to New York; 2) it is unexpected that in this distinctly rural
atmosphere, in 1950, one would encounter a fabrication involving sophisticated trick
photography (e.g. a carefully retouched print). The witnesses also appear unaffected now
by the incident, receiving only occasional inquiries (6). The overall appearance of the
photographs, in particular the slightly underexposed land foreground and properly exposed
sky, is consistent with the reported time 7:30 PST (Sunset being roughly a few minutes
after 7:15, and twilight lasting until after 8:45). There Could be a possible discrepancy
in view of the fact that the UFO, the telephone pole, possibly the garage at the left, and
especially the distant house gables (left of the distant barn) are illuminated from the
right, or
east. The house, in particular, appears to have a shadow under its roof that would
suggest a daylit photo, and combined with the eastward incidence, one could argue that the
photos were taken on a dull, sunlit day at, say, 10 a.m. But accepting the UFO makes
scarcely less sense than arguing that the witnesses staged a hoax at 10 a.m. and then
claimed the photographs were taken at 7:30. Densitometry of the original negatives shows
that the sky itself is brighter toward the west, as expected. It seems possible that, half
an hour after sunset, the cloud distribution could result in a dull illumination
preferentially from the NE (certainly there will be skylight from above). Reality of
physical object. As stated previously, it is unlikely that a sophisticated "optical
fabrication" was performed. The negatives had not been tampered with. Further, a
geometric test was performed to determine whether the object shown in Plate 24 in
approximate cross section was the same object photographed in Plate 23 at a different
angle. The apparent inclination, i, can be determined from the ratio of the axes of the
apparent ellipse in Plate 23.
sin i = b/a (2)
Measures on several copies of photo I (the UPI print, an enlargement thereof, and two
magazine reproductions) gave sin i =0.368, and
i = 21* .6 +/- 0* .1 (est. P.E.). (3)
Plate 26 shows enlargements from UPI print with lines of sight superimposed on the
Plate 24 "cross section" at 21*.6. The way in which these lines cut the image is
in perfect agreement with the appearance of the object in Plate 23. Judging from the
apparent position of the pole it is likely that the object has simply tipped, without
rotation, between the two photos. The lighting is also consistent with that in the rest of
the ph oto. Both photographs, therefore, show real objects and that the object in Plate 23
is a view of the same object in Plate 24, seen in different perspective. Asymmetry of UFO.
It will be noted in Plate 26 that the UFO is distinctly asymmetric. The "pole"
is off center and inclined, and there appears to be a difference in the profiles of the
right and left sides (Plate 24), the left having a more pronounced notch defining the
flange. The shading of the object also indicates a more distinct flange on the left in
Plate 24. The asymmetries are judged physical, not optical effects. Absence of rotation.
The top of the "pole," barely visible in photo 1, is off center to the left by
the same amount as in photo 2. This would be rather improbable if the object were
rotating, and Supports Witness 11's statement that it was not rotating. This is a rather
strong argument against a fabrication using a necessarily (for stability) spinning model
similar to a "frisbee," especially in view of the fact that only 2 exposures
were made in the middle of an intact roll of film.
Angular size of object. From measurements of recent photos (6) the photos were scaled
and the UFO diameters estimated to be:
Plate 23: 1*.4
Plate 24: 1*.3.
The P.E. is probably about 0*.1, but the object subtends a smaller angle in photo 2,
consistent with the allegation that photo 2 was made as the UFO was beginning to depart.
It follows immediately that the distance-diameter relation is determined, and a map of the
locale (based on ref. 7) is shown in Fig. I with the azimuths, angular sizes, and example,
that the object was less than a meter in diameter and over the driveway.
Psychological reaction. I judge it reasonable that as the object allegedly drifted to
the left, in danger of being lost to sight behind the garage, that the observer should
step unconsciously to his right, as the photos show he did, although one might expect the
observer even more reasonably to step forward, to get in front of the garage. The reason
for the first response may have been that the second would put the observer close to the
house, where the object might be lost to sight if it moved back to the east, while by
moving away from the garage, one moves toward the open yard SE of the house. In summary,
the movement of the observer is consistent with the alleged observation.
Possibility of fabrication
The above tests all appear to be consistent the the witnesses' testimony. The
possibility of optical fabrication seems remote. A model thrown into the air by hand
appears an unlikely possibility because of the evidence for the absence of rotation.
Another possibility can be considered, however. The object appears beneath a pair of
wires, as is seen in Plates 23 and 24. We may question, therefore, whether it could have
been a model suspended from one of the wires. This possibility is strengthened by the
observation that the object ap cars beneath roughly the same point in the two photos, in
spite of their having been taken from two positions. This can be determined from
irregularities, or "kinks," in the wires. The wires pass between the camera
positions and the garage (left). We know from the change in orientation of the object that
it moved, or was reoriented by hand, between exposures. The possibility that it is a model
hanging beneath a point on the wire suggests a further test: is the change in distance of
the object in Plates 23 and 24 equal to the change in distance from the wires? Measures of
the disk indicate that it is about 8% further away in Plate 24. Measures of the
irregularities in the wires indicate that they are further away from the
camera in Plate 24. The amount of the latter increase from the wires (measured by the
separation of rather ill-defined "kinks") is less certain than the distance
increase from the disk, but it is measured to be about 10%. These tests do not rule out
the possibility that the object was a small model suspended from the nearby wire by an
unresolved thread. Given the foregoing analysis, one must choose between an asymmetric
model suspended from the overhead wire, and an extraordinary flying object (See Table 1).
Photometric analysis. Although it is often stated that a single photograph of an object
contains no information on the distance, this is not strictly true. Atmospheric extinction
and scattering, combined, serve to reduce contrast as distance increases, an effect
perhaps best appreciated by artists. The shadowed bottom of the UFO in Plate 23 has a
particularly pale look, Suggestive of scattering between observer and object, and if such
scattering is detectable, it may be possible to make some estimate of the distance
involved.
Table I
Summary of Possible Interpretations
Interpretations Rejected Comments
Optical fabrications
Double exposure X UFO darker than sky background
Retouch; drawn image X Negatives unretouched
Multiple copies, X Overly sophisticated
recopying
Physical fabrications
"Frisbee"-type model X No rotation
in flight
Model suspended from Under same part of wire in
wire each photo
Extraordinary Photometry suggests large distance
Flying Object
The luminance, or apparent surface brightness at distance r of an object of intrinsic
luminance
B. (r = 0) is
B = B sky ( 1 - e (-Pr) ) + B. e (-Pr), (4)
where P is the scattering coefficient. The first term represents scattered light; the
second, extinction. Since all measures must be based on the witnesses' two photographs, we
will determine P for the given day from the photographs themselves. Normalizing all
brightnesses (measured from the film and assuming that the images measured fall on the
linear portion of the gamma curve) to that of the sky near the horizon, i.e. on a line
within a few thousand feet of the ground, where the UFO is constrained to be by the
reported cloud height and probably nearness to the camera, we have
B = 1 + e (-Pr) ( B. - 1) (5)
Notice that if an object is sufficiently far away, its brightness equals the sky
brightness (in physical terms, the optical depth T >> 1).
Given the brightness of an object at zero distance, B, and the observed brightness B.,
one may solve for the distance r. The first necessary step is to determine the scattering
coefficient P
The original negatives were subjected to densitometric analysis, and Table 2 lists
observed values of B. "Hill 2" lies at a distance of about 2.2 km (7). The
photometry indicates that
B = .685 for the distant hill, but the background foliage gives B. = .403. This gives
=0.289 km(-1)
or optical depth T = 1 at r = 3.5 km, (6)
which appears consistent with the appearance of the photos.
At this Point the theory was checked against objects of known distance. For example,
the roof of the distant barn ("B" in Fig.1) has B = .506 If one assumes that its
intrinsic brightness equals that of the foreground garage, then B. = .495, so that r =
0.073 km.
Table 2
Values of B for Objects Photographed*
Based on densitometry of original negatives,. aperture 75,u x 75,u
Object Plate 23 Plate 24
UFO "Pole" 1.07
Illuminated right side 1.29 1.23
Illuminated left side (1.35) 1.05
Shaded bottom .675
Garage roof .489 .501
Shadows under eaves .396 .426
Metallic tank:
Illuminated .86 .91
Shaded bottom (.48) (.40)
Foreground underbrush .417 .389
Barn (roof) .511 .501
Hill
1 .63 .59
2 .71 .66
House
Illuminated wall (.77) (.77)
Shadow (.44) (.52)
Sky
Upper right 1.29 1.26
Upper left 1.51 1.62
Horizon 1.00 1.00
Unexposed edge of film .32 .34
Measures in parentheses have lower weight
* B values are normalized to horizon sky brightness
The true r is about 0.32 km, and our error is a factor 4. One can resolve the
discrepancy by assuming the barn roof was slightly (7% ) darker than the garage roof.
Again, one can check the theory on the distant "Hill 1."
B = .610 and B. = .403 as measured in the foreground foliage. This gives r = 1.5 km.
The true r is in the range 1.3 to 1.9 km, depending on the part of the hill observed, and
the error is negligible. A third check, more comparable to the UFO problem, is the distant
house ("H" in Fig. 1). Unfortunately the densitometer did not clearly resolve
the illuminated white facade from the intervening branches; however, supplementary
measures with enlargements indicate that the facade brightness should be only slightly
more than 1.00, e.g. B @ 1.02, and B. @ 1.04, which means that the apparent brightness
nearly equals sky brightness and hence is very insensitive to distance and gives no good
solution. There are shadows visible, on the house on the white surface under the eaves.
Measures indicate B = .48. B. for the shadows on this white surface, illuminated by the
ambient illumination. should be intrinsically measurably brighter than the shadows under
the dark wooden garage eaves and under the tank beside the garage (B. = .41 ), but not as
much brighter as the white illuminated surface is brighter than the darker wood. (If there
were no ambient illumination, all shadows would be intrinsically black: B. = 0). An
estimated value is B. = .43. This gives a distance or r = 0.32 km, only 14% less than the
measured distance of 0.37 km. Naive use of B,, = 0.41, known to be too low. would have
given r =.O.4 km. 19% too great.
It is concluded that by careful consideration of the parameters involved in the case of
recognizable objects, in the photographs, distances can be measured within a factor-four
error. This justifies the assumption that we are on the linear part of the gamma curve. If
such a good measure could be made for the UFO, we could distinguish between a distant
extraordinary object and a hypothetical small, close model. At this point we must be
explicit about the geometry of the situation. We represent the environment as in Fig. 2.
We assume that the UFO is within a homogeneous scattering layer with T = 1 at 3.5 km. If
the UFO were far away and at an altitude greater than the characteristic dimension of the
layer (c in.Fig. 2), it would be large and extraordinary in any case. If it is relatively
close, r ~1 km, the assumptions are justified. Our objective is to distinguish between
cases A and B in Fig. 2. The sky brightness, to which all the brightness
Fig. 2
values are normalized, must be the sky brightness at the horizon, since this is the
value characteristic of long path length through the scattering layer.
For the solution of the UFO distance, we have two independent solutions from two
independent observations: the illuminated and shadowed surfaces of the UFO. As was
remarked above, it is the shadowed surface in particular that looks pale and hence
suggests large distance.
Immediately from Table 2 we see that B = 1.21 describes the part of the UFO, while the
illuminated part of the nearby dull aluminum-painted tank B. = .885. Since, as the UFO
recedes, B must approach 1.00. We thus know that 1.21 is the minimum intrinsic brightness
of the UFO surface, i.e. B. >/= 1.21.
Thus the UFO in any interpretation is known to have a brighter surface than the
foreground tank. Thus, the photometry at once confirms the witnesses' report that the UFO
was shiny, like a fresh, aluminum-painted surface, but not a specular surface.
The question is, how bright is the surface intrinsically, and what surface properties
would be consistent with both the observed illuminated and shadowed side? Fig. 3 shows two
families of solutions, one for the illuminated top surface and one for the shaded bottom
side. Solutions for the latter have an uncertainty introduced by the difficulty of
measuring the true shadow intensity on the tank. The distance is given as a function of
the assumed increase in brig htness over the value for the illuminated or shaded side of
the aluminum-painted tank, respectively.
Fig.3
Fig. 3 graphically illustrates the problem. For example, if the object is a model
suspended from the wire only a few meters away, its surface is some 37% brighter than that
of the tank, and the shaded side is probably more than 40% brighter than the shadow on the
tank. But this is nearly impossible to maintain in the face of the photometry. Although
the distant house's surface is roughly twice as bright as the tank's surface, its shadows
can be only a few percent brighter intrinsically, than those on the tank. This is
basically the problem that was suggested by initial inspection of the photos: the shadowed
side of the UFO appears to be so bright that it suggests significant scattering between it
and the observer.
The upshot is that if the top and bottom surfaces of the UFO are made out of
essentially the same material, i.e. wit the same albedo, the photometry indicates that the
UFO distant, at roughly r = 1.3 =/- 0.4 km (est. P. E.). The witnesses referred to a
slightly different hue of the bottom 4 of the UFO: they said it was more bronze than the
silver top side. We have assumed this change in tint had negligible effect on the
photometry, although the implication is that the bottom has slightly lower albedo. If so
the UFO would be still more distant.
There is one last possibility for fabrication which has been ruled out. Suppose the
object is a small model with a pale gray top and a bright white bottom (e.g. an aluminum
pie pan sealed on the bottom with white paper). Could this account for the apparent
lightness of the bottom, shaded side of the UFO ?
It is difficult to defend this idea in the face of the photometry. Our analysis of the
house indicated that its shaded white surface had an intrinsic brightness of 0.43, which
is very close to the value measured for the shaded part of the aluminum-painted tank. Yet
hypothetical fabrication requires a surface on the shaded bottom of the model that is of
intrinsic shaded brightness 0.68, considerably brighter than the shaded part of the white
house. In other words, the photometry appears to indicate that a very white surface on the
bottom of a small model would be required to match the appearance of the photographs.
To the extent that the photometric analysis is reliable, (and the measurements appear
to be consistent), the photographs indicate an object with a bright shiny surface at
considerable distance and on the order of tens of meters in diameter. While it would be
exaggerating to say that we have positively ruled out a fabrication, it appears
significant that the simplest, most direct interpretation of the photographs confirms
precisely what the witnesses said they saw. Yet, the fact that the object appears beneath
the same part of the overhead wire in both photos can be used as an argument favoring a
suspended model. |