Documents / Hearing transcript
This is the printed record of a July 29, 1968 symposium on unidentified flying objects held by the Committee on Science and Astronautics of the U.S. House of Representatives, chaired by Rep. J. Edward Roush. The committee heard statements from six scientists: J. Allen Hynek, James E. McDonald, Carl Sagan, Robert L. Hall, James A. Harder and Robert M. L. Baker. It also printed papers from Donald Menzel, Stanton Friedman, Frank Salisbury and others. Hynek argued that puzzling UFO reports from competent witnesses deserve serious scientific study.
“Nevers”43 pages
3 Professor, Astronomy, 1950-56, Ohio State University. Instructor, Physics and Astronomy, Ohio State University, 1935-41; Asst. Prof. 1941-45; Associate Professor 1946-50. Asst. Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago,1934. Astronomer, Perkins Observatory, Ohio State, 1935-56. Assistant Dean of the Graduate School 1950-53. Supervisor of Technical Reports, Applied Physical Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, 1942-46. Visiting Lecturer, Harvard University,1956-60. Civilian with U.S. Navy 1944. Scientific Societies: American Association for the Advancement of Science; Astronomy Society(secretary). Specialty: Astrophysics. Fields of Interest: Stellar spectroscopy; F type stars; stellar scintillation. STATEMENT OF DR. I. ALLEN HYNEK, HEAD, DEPARTMENT OF ASTRONOMY, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, EVANSTON, ILL. Dr.HYNEK.Thank you. My name is J. Allen Hynek.I am professor of astronomy at North- western University, Evanston, Ill., where I serve as chairman of the department of astronomy and director of the Lindheimer Astronomi- cal Research Center. I have also served for many years, and still do, as scientific consultant to the U.S. Air Force on Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFO's. Today,however,I am speaking as a private citizen and scientist and not as a representative of the Air Force. We are here today,I gather,to examine whether the UFO phenom- enon is worthy of serious scientific attention. I hope my comments may contribute to your understanding of the problem and help lead to its eventual solution. The UFO problem has been with us now for many years. It would be difficult to find another subject which has claimed as much atten- tion in the world press, in the conversation of people of all walks of life, and which has captured the imagination of so many,over so long a period of time. The word UFO, or flying saucer, can be found in the languages and dictionaries of all civilized peoples, and if one were to collect all the words that have been printed in newspapers, magazines, and books in the past two decades, it would be a stagger- ing assemblage. The bibliography of the subject recently compiled at the Library of Congress is a most impressive document, and illus- trates that the UFO became a problem for the librarian even before it did for the scientist. As we all know,the scientific world is a world of exact calculations, of quantitative data, of controlled laboratory experiments, and of seemingly well-understood laws and principles. The UFO phenom- enon does not seem to fit into that world; it seems to flaunt itself before our present-day science. The subject of UFO's has engendered an inordinate emotional reac- tion in certain quarters and has far more often called forth heated controversy rather than calm consideration. Most scientists have pre- ferred to remain aloof from the fray entirely, thereby running the risk of "being down on what they were not up on," as the old adage goes. It is unlikely that I would have become involved in the study of the UFO phenomenon had I not been officially asked to do so. I prob- ably would have—and in fact did for a time—regarded the whole
Hearing transcript, from the govinfo collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 256 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.