Documents / Report

Robertson Panel Report

The Black Vault · 1953 · 29 pages · text from the file's own layer

This declassified CIA document, released through The Black Vault, reports on the meetings of the Scientific Advisory Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects, which the Office of Scientific Intelligence convened on January 14 to 18, 1953. It includes a history of the sessions and the panel's informal comments, and it appends the formal report signed by H. P. Robertson and others. The panel found no evidence of a direct threat to national security. It recommended stripping UFOs of their special status and starting a public education program.

  • p. 6 …the results of their analyses of the films mentioned above. This analysis evolved considerable discussion as…
  • p. 7 …A number of case histories were dis- cussed in detail and a motion picture film of…
  • p. 14 …The Panel studied these films, the case history, ATIC's interpretation, and received a briefing by…
  • p. 15 …graph plots of individual frames of the film, show- ing apparent and relative motion of objects…
  • p. 16 …h• .Analysis of light intensity of objects made from duplicate rather than original film• The original…
  • p. 17 …Hand "jitter 11 frequencies (obtainable from early part of Tremonton film) were not removed from the…
  • p. 19 …24-hour instrumentation watch (two frames of film showing nothing distinguishable) J a widespread program of…
  • p. 24 …tvhich ma0e \'Jorlci :Jar II trc.:dninp: films (motion picture anci slide strips) Nas also sue…
  • p. 26 …1vriters and a subcontractor to produce traming films vrould be necessary in addition. The Panel considered…
Approved For Re.e 2001/08/07: CIA-RDP81R00560R~00030027-0
of the sky is now--and has been for many years--under surveillance
every clear night in several meteor and aurora observing pro~s as
vell as sky mapping programs at the various locations listed below.
Although the attention of those astronomers is largely directed
toward identified rather than unidentified objects, no case of any
striking unidentified object is known to Dr. Hynek, Such
an object would most certainly be reported if found on patrol plates;
A case was cited where an astronomer refused to interrupt his
exposure in order to photograph an alleged sighting in a different
part of the sky; This led Dr. Hynek to say that, if a program of
watching could be an adjunct of planned astronomical programs, little
cost would be involved and that the trained astronomical personnel
might photograph a sighting of an unidentified object.
The location of same of these progr.5ms ru1d their directors are
believed to be :
a. Harvard University, Cru~bridge and New Mexico (meteor patrol) -
Whipple.
b, Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago and Fort Davis, Texas
(several programs)--Meinel (aurorae), Kuiper (asteroids),
Morgan ('vide angle camera) •
c, University of Alaska, Fairbanks (aurorae) - Elvey
do Dominion Observatory, otta-vra (meteors) - Millman
e. Palomar Observatory, California (sky map) - Minkowski
f• Lick Observatory, California (sky map) - Shane
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Bet.~·~·~
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Approved For Release 2001/08/07: CIA-RDP81R00560R000100030027-0
25X1A

Cases discussed

About this file

Report, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 29 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.