Unidentified Flying Objects: Project "Grudge" (Technical Report No. 102-AC 49/15-100)

## UNCLASSIFIED

Anslent: 233, a: — ya: 6

as bright as it is known most brilliant. However, under exceptionally good atmospheric conditions and with the eye extended from the direct rays of the sun, Venus might be seen as an exceedingly tiny bright point of light. It can be shown that it was definitely brighter than the surrounding sky, for on the date in question, Venus had a small diameter of 2 seconds of arc, or a total apparent surface area of approximately 126 square seconds. Assuming that a square around of sky would be a trifle brighter than the fourth magnitude, a portion of the sky of the same area presented by Venus would be about -1.1 magnitude. Since the planet, however, was -0.1, it was 6 times brighter than an equivalent area of sky. While it is thus physically possible to see Venus at each time, usually its pinpoint character and the large expense of sky makes its annual detection very unlikely. If, however, a person happens to look toward a point on the sky that is just a few minutes of arc from the position of Venus, we opt to be startled by this apparition and to wonder why he didn't see it before. The chance, of course, of looking at just the right spot are very few. Once done, however, it is usually fairly easy to release the object and to call the attention of others to it. However, atmospheric conditions must be exceptionally good. It is improbable, for example, that Venus would be seen under these circumstances in a large city.

It can be said, therefore, that a possible explanation for the object sighted in the daytime is incident r33, a-2, is that it