n responsible for the weasel-worded report that the Air Force
released in late 1949, and he apologized for it. Had he known that it
was going to cause so much confusion, he said, he would have been
more specific. He thought the incident was a dead issue. The reason
that Venus had been such a strong suspect was that it was in almost
the same spot in the sky as the UFO. Dr. Hynek referred to his notes
and told me that at 3:00P.M., Venus had been south southwest of
Godman and 33 degrees above the southern horizon. At 3:00P.M. the
people in the tower estimated the UFO to be southwest of Godman and
at an elevation of about 45 degrees. Allowing for human error in
estimating directions and angles, this was close. I agreed. There was
one big flaw in the theory, however. Venus wasn't bright enough to be
seen. He had computed the brilliance of the planet, and on the day in
question it was only six times as bright as the surrounding sky. Then
he explained what this meant. Six times may sound like a lot, but it
isn't. When you start looking for a pinpoint of light only six times
as bright as the surrounding sky, it's almost impossible to find it,
even on a clear day.

Dr. Hynek said that he didn't think that the UFO was Venus.

I later found out that although it was a relatively clear day there
was considerable haze.

I asked him about some of the other possibilities. He repeated the
balloon, canopy-reflection, and sundog theories but he refused to
comment on them since, as he said, he was an astrophysicist and would
care to comment only on the astrophysical aspects of the sightings.

I drove back to Dayton convinced that the UFO wasn't Venus. Dr.
Hynek had said Venus would have been a pinpoint of light. The people
in the tower had been positive of their descriptions, their
statements brought that out. They couldn't agree on a description,
they called the UFO "a parachute," "an ice cream cone tipped with
red," "round and white," "huge and silver or metallic," "a small
white object," "one fourth the size of the full moon," but all the
descriptions plainly indicated a large object. None of the
descriptions could even vaguely be called a pinpoint of light.

This aspect of a definite shape seemed to eliminate the sundog
theory too. Sundogs, or parhelia, as they are technically known, are
caused by ice particles reflecting a diffused light. This would not
give a sharp outline. I also recalled two instances where Air Force
pilots h