5.07.2024

The 701 club: Case 925: June 1, 1951 Niagara Falls, New York

Don Berlinner describes the case as follows:

June 1, 1951; Niagara Falls, New York. 4:20 a.m. Witnesses: M/Sgt H.E. Sweeney, 2 enlisted men. One glowing yellow-orange, saucer-shaped object with arc-shaped wings, flew straight up. Seen for 30-40 seconds.1

Sparks’ entry is essentially a repeat of Berlinner’s entry. However, he puts a question mark by the time of GMT. 2

The Blue Book file3

The information in the files has some details that shed some light on the matter. These details are:

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The time and date was 0420E on 1 June 1951. The record card records the time as Zulu (which explains the question mark by Sparks in his entry). However, the times listed in report are definitely Eastern time.

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The object’s bearing was 080 degrees and 20 degrees elevation.

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Weather was broken clouds and 4 miles visibility due to smoke.

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The MSGT noted went outside the weather station and noticed the object. He tapped on the window to bring out the other observers to view it.

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Object was saucer shaped. The center was brighter than the arc shaped wings. It was a glowing orange-yellow color.

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The object’s motion was upward and eastward. There was an oscillating motion.

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After 30-40 seconds, the object disappeared into the clouds.

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The airmen confirmed the observations but gave the time visible as 25-30 seconds.

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There was a DC-4 taking off from Buffalo airport at 0419 E.

Analysis

There is a possible solution for this sighting. In the east was crescent moon and it appears to match the description given. A crescent moon would have a bright center and have thinner “wings”.

It is hard to say what time they were using. Daylight Savings Time was a spotty sort of thing in 1951. Some locations used Standard time and others used Daylight Savings. Various locations New York used Daylight Savings Time but others did not. On August 8,

19524, there was a sighting at Niagara Falls. They listed the time as EST indicating that Niagara Falls was observing standard time a year later. It seems probable that they would have been observing Standard Time in 1951 as well.

Assuming it was standard time, the sun was to rise around 4:40 AM EST. It was already civil twilight and the sky was brightening.

The moon would have been at 84 degrees azimuth and 17 degrees elevation. This is pretty close to the location in the record card.

If the time were daylight savings time, at 0420 EDT, the thin crescent moon was at azimuth 75 degrees and 7 degrees elevation. It would have been the beginning of Nautical Twilight.

The moon seen through clouds and smoke, could take on the appearance described. Additionally, the motion of clouds could have given the illusion that the moon was moving in a certain direction. It was a brief observation and the disappearance into the clouds indicates that whatever was seen was above the altitude of the clouds.

One other important point is that the observers never reported seeing the moon, which would have been in the vicinity of the object.

Conclusion

This event can be classified as probably the moon. The difference between the azimuth and elevation values are well within the margins of error for brief observations of an object in the sky, even if Daylight Savings Time was being observed. The description of the object having “arch-shaped” wings is a fairly good description of the shape of the crescent moon. The information from the sighting points toward the moon being the culprit. The case does not deserve to be on the list of Blue Book unknowns.

Quelle: SUNlite 3/2024