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