Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects (the Condon Report, complete, three volumes)

the:' producing hy optical and other means of anitnaup falsely alleged
tl) be a re,11 physical entity ;It the scen\..:. Iktuucheu negatives, douhle
C'xpn5U1"e:" ;lI\d ",upcrimposcu ll1l,lgCS arc examl,jl~ oj' the latter.
l;t'lH'rall~', phvsic.tl fahric,ltiol1s meet tests ()f c(1Il~;i"tence in light-
ing and :-hadow but fail tests of size or di~;tanlc. Most commonly,
photographs of mode 1s are nut of focus, or have i ncons i stcnt f()cu~~
~,('tl'.'een the "UFO" and other objL'cts at it>; alleged Jistar.cc. Optical
fabrications, on the other hand, may show in~onsistencies in lighting
between background and UPO details, or in the case of monta?cs,
image flm,'s.
Plate -: is an example of the simplest and most common type of
ph~'5jcal f,lbrication - a disk-shaped moJel thrown into the nir by
hand. 1'1,1u'S Rand 9 arc examples of morc~ complex fabrications -
i1 model su~~ppnded from a stri ng and a ni gilt -tirr,e photograph of a
hanJ··held 11I0\il'~ i llumin:lteu by flashlight. '['he c three photographs
~'(>r(' made /1.1' the wri tel'. Plates 8 :md ~ were nl,ldc for comparison
\'.'i tl1 the Santa ;\na :mu :-Jorth East urn photo~riiph5 (C"scs 52 and 53).
Plates 10, 11, and 12 Clrc ex;;mplcs of optical fahrications maJc by
thl' writer.
S. Techlliqu~ of i\nal,tsi~
Photographic evidence acquires probative value onlY when ~nown
natural phenomena can be ruled out and it can be shov:n that a fabr-i-
cat i Oil \.;15 not cas)' O.r" conven i cnt.
F:uly iI' the stlld;', it was deeiJed not to select (lr analyzc euch
(·\"e by a prcJ('t'crmilleJ loutine. Hat/wI', l:ascs WC1'C studieJ i.n terms
llf theil' i111ividual dlClractedstics. Lil(j~ndstic clwraderistics
illdu,lC'd such properti,'s as (ll potential stereoscopy. (2) reports
h \. III \l J 'c i pI (' \' i s II a I ~'i t n (' s s (' s, (.n c, (J ud III () t ion s) ( tween tilt' "LIFO" and other ObjL'Cts ;It it~; alleged distar.cL'. Optical
fabrications, on the other hDnd, may show inconsi:;tencles in lighting
between tn('kground and UFO detaj 15, or in the C;ISe of flIonta,:cs,
ililage flnlVs.
Plat,. "7 is an example of the simplest anu most commun type of
ph)'sical f~lbl'ication - iI disk-shaped moJel thrown into the air by
hall'\' I'l cX;iTnples of optical fnhricfltlOIlS m,hJc by
the writer.
S. TecJ1}.~3.lI~ of JI..!l;,llx.=i~~
Phot0grap~jc evidence acquires probative value only when ~n()Wh
natural p!1(,!10ml'n:l can be ruled out and it can be s!1Q\>:n that s, ,Il c.uud II\lJti()Il~, (~') usc of hrllC t()
def nm :15 !' igll i fi callt.
In the ,,:oLlrse of tht' invE'sti~:atjoll, <lllalysis uf the forC'goillg
Lhariicteri~tics f)f Ul'l) photographs l'c~llltl'din 0111' developing :1 set
e'f pr[)tuclli~ useful in the assIgning prioritiC's tn UFO phQtograph~;
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