From TinWiki.org
On 16 July 1952, a famous UFO photograph was taken by Coast Guard photographer Shell Alpert at a United States Coast Guard Air Station at Salem, Massachusetts.
The Salem, Massachusetts photograph (16 July 1952)
The United States Air Force’s Project Blue Book includes the following report on this photograph:
- “On 16 July 1952 a photograph of four objects was taken by the USCG station photographer at Salem, Massachusetts. The photograph was submitted to ATIC for analysis and the analysis was completed on 1 August 1952. Analysis was made from the original negative which was returned to the Coast Guard at their request. The results of this analysis indicated that the photo was a hoax. Extensive photographs were taken under similar conditions. Failure of the light source to cast reflections on the highly polished cars below indicated that the light was not outside and it was assumed by the analyst at the time that the photo was a double exposure and for this reason a hoax. A subsequent examination of this photo was made in October 1963 and the following analysis is indicated as a more probable cause.
- “The photo was taken through a window with a 4/5 Busch Pressman Camera (135 MM F4.7 Raptar lens with lens with Rapax shutter, loaded with 4/5 Super XX cut film). The photographers observed several lights which seemed to be wavering. He observed the lights for 5 or 6 seconds and grabbed the camera, which had been on a nearby table. The focus was adjusted to infinity. The photographer pulled the slide in preparation for the picture when he noticed that the lights had dimmed. He assumed at the time that the object he saw was a reflection. He ran out of the room to get an additional witness, and upon returning noticed that the lights were again brilliant. When they went to the window the lights were gone. He again stated that perhaps some sort of refraction could possibly account for the lights.
- “The following points are deemed pertinent to analysis. The camera was focused on infinity and the picture taken through a window. As the witness approached the window, the objects dimmed, as he returned to his point of initial observation and at the second observation as he re-entered the room the lights were again brilliant. The objects as photographed appear fuzzy and out of focus. The cars and buildings outside are sharply outlined. The window frame inside the building is out of focus. All four objects have the same outline and general configuration, in spite of the blurring.
- “Conclusion: It is believed that the photos represent light reflections from an interior source (probably the ceiling lights) on the window through which the photo was taken. With the camera set on infinity the window would be more out of focus than the lights. The lights would still be out of focus since the distance from the lights to the window and back to the camera lens would still be shorter than the distance required for a clear picture with the lens setting on infinity. The objects outside the building would be in focus. The apparant [sic] brightness of the reflection would decrease as the photographer approached the window. The initial photo analysis indicating the magnitude of the light and substantiation of fact that the light source was not external is correct. There is no indication of any attempt to perpetrate a hoax. The photo received is similar to many others taken through windows which have been confirmed as reflections of an interior light source. Had the camera been focused for a shorter distance, the outline of the interior light source would have been sharper. It is believed that there is sufficient evidence to substantiate the evaluation of this photo as reflections of internal light sources.”
The Photograph
The Salem, Massachusetts photograph
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Claims to fame
J Allen Hynek has referred to this photograph as a “widely publicized case”, a “classic” that “has made the rounds in just about every magazine and book on the subject”. It was listed by Project Blue Book as “unidentified”.
During 2003-2007, Isaac Koi reviewed a sample of 963 UFO and SETI books and noted the frequency with which various UFO cases were discussed. This photograph featured in a list of the top 10 photographic cases (in terms of frequency of discussion). This incident was the seventh most frequently discussed UFO photographic case in the study, with 38 discussions being noted.
Hynek’s views
J Allen Hynek wrote about this photograph at some length in his book “The Hynek UFO Report” (1977). He commented that his opinion “may surprise you”, stating that “I’d agree with Blue Book’s evaluation – that the photograph was nothing more than misidentification of a light reflection in a window of the photo lab at the Coast Guard Station”.
Hynek further commented that the one thing that we can learn from this particular case is that “photographs of lights purported to be UFOs cannot be taken at face value”. Indeed, he commented that in his opinion “they cannot be taken at any value as UFO evidence without meeting the harshest criteria”. Hynek suggested that it is important to remember that “the photograph is no more reliable than the photographer”.
The Skeptics
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force included this photograph in Project Blue Book as Case Number 1501. Its evaluation of them was: “Unidentified”.
Menzel
In their book “The World of Flying Saucers” (1963), Donald Menzel and Lyle Boyd wrote that “only imagination could convert these spots of light into spaceships”, suggesting that “they may have been aircraft; they may equally well have been sea gulls, their outlines blurred by the glare of the sunlight reflected from their white bodies”.
In their book “The UFO Enigma” (1977), Donald Menzel and Ernest Taves referred to this “well-known” photograph as an example of photographs where the “best interpretation” is that the objects photographed were “birds, moving either individually or in flocks”.
References to discussions in books
- J Allen Hynek in his “The Hynek UFO Report” (1977) at pages 221-224 (in Chapter 10) of the Barnes & Noble hardback reprint (1997) at pages 231-234 of the Dell paperback edition (with the same page numbering in the Sphere paperback edition). [4 page discussion]
- Donald Menzel and Lyle Boyd in their “The World of Flying Saucers” (1963) at page 122 (in Chapter 6) of the Doubleday hardback edition. [1 page discussion]
- Donald Menzel and Ernest Taves in their “The UFO Enigma” (1977) at page 192 (in Chapter 14) of the Doubleday hardback edition. [1 page discussion]
- Kevin Randle and Russ Estes in their “Spaceships of the Visitors” (1997) at pages 130-132 (in Part 3) of the Fireside softcover edition. [3 page discussion]
- Ronald Story in “The Encyclopedia of UFOs” (1980) edited by Ronald Story at pages 313-314 (in an entry entitled “Salem (Massachusetts) Coast Guard photo”) of the NEL hardback edition. [2 page discussion]
For further references, see the entry dated 1952.0716 in Isaac Koi’s Core Chronology (“KCC”).
External links
Relevant Discussion Threads on ATS
