The Life of J. Allen Hynek (to be broadcast on C2C-AM Dec. 10-11)

coasttocoastam.com ^ | Dec. 10, 2009 | C2C-AM

[Las Vegas Dave]

The Life of J. Allen Hynek Date: 12-10-09

Host: George Noory

Guests: aola Harris, Ann Eller

Investigative journalist Paola Harris will be joined by Ann Eller to discuss the late UFOlogist J. Allen Hynek, who was technical advisor for the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Website(s): •dragoninthesky.com •paolaharris.com

Book(s): •Exopolitics: How Does One Speak To A Ball Of Light?

[Las Vegas Dave]

Pinging the unidentified aerial phenomena list (ufo) ..

May 8, 1950-This is one of the most famous UFO pictures ever taken.
Photographed by Paul Trent, and first witnessed by his wife.
They were published in a local newspaper in McMinnville, Oregon shortly thereafter.
Soon, the Trent photos were published in Life magazine edition of June 26, 1950.
The rest is history.
These photos have been deemed authentic for over 50 years.

Those interested in the uap/ufo ping list, please Freepmail
Quix, DCPatriot and LasVegasDave (freepmail works best)
if you would like your name added to the list.
( Approximately 150+ freepers are currently on the ping list ).

[Las Vegas Dave]

Hynek on Swamp gas.

It should be pointed out that Dr. J. Allen Hynek, Project Bluebook scientific advisor, was sent to Michigan after the mass UFO sightings in 1966. The press and citizens of Michigan were expecting a QUICK answer/explanation…Dr. Hynek was still studying reports, etc. and had a lot to go thru. After awhile the USAF was being pressured to give an answer.

So the USAF hasily arranged a news conference. Dr. Hynek who was still studying and reviewing cases was not prepared for this so he decoded to give the press, what he had found out so far….

According to Dr. Hynek, he made a speech on the sightings, etc. He started out with one sighting saying, “The case of the girls in the college dormitory that saw a strange object in the swampy fields on night, I believe they PROBABLY saw a phenomenon called “swamp gas”, and briefly went into an explanation of it.

Because, of the frenzy at the time the press did not pay attention to his term of “PROBABLY”, nor did they stick around to hear what he had to say about other sightings. According to Hynek, as soon as he finished telling what he thought of this only ONE CASE. The reporters inmediately left the room to call their city editors, news desks, ect. And in less than 24 hours almost every newspaper in the world had on the front page, “MICHIGAN UFOs ARE SWAMP GAS”. Dr. Hynek said he was BADLY MISQUOTED by the press at the time. He was referring to ONLY ONE UFO SIGHTING and the press assumed he meant all UFO sightings.

Note to ping list: I saw the Johnny Carson show when Hynek was on, and had heard him state the above. He was sorry that he ever said "swamp gas"....

[Las Vegas Dave]

One other interesting fact, Hynek has a cameo roll in the movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” during the scene on the mountain top of the first encounter, he steps out of the group of scientists wearing a blue blazer jacket, (and I think he was also smoking his pipe).

I immediately recognized him on the theater screen and I burst out with a laugh...(I never expected him to be in the film).

[sushiman]

I read a book by him when I was a kid back in the 60’s ...Don’t remember the title ...I was heavily into the heavens then , and still am ...My neighbor here in Japan , has a comet named after him ( Utsunomiya ) . I’ve been to his place high up in the mountains of Kumamoto , and viewed the uinverse through his telescope ...Big thrill for me .

[sushiman]

Shougo Utsunomiya is a farmer who lives in Kumamoto which is in the mid-western part of Kyushu Island. His farm is on the north side of Mount Aso where he observes from a relatively light pollution free site. Utsunomiya san built his own roll-off roof observatory in one of his pastures; the observatory is about 3 minutes walk from his house. He searches for comets with 15cm Fujinon binoculars which are also mounted alt/az. Utsunomiya san started observing at 03:05 JST and just [again, my rough translation] “had a feeling I would find something; the sky’s condition was go good”. At 04:10 JST, he saw what looked like “a greenish chunk of light”; and at first, he thought it might be Comet Bradfield. Marking the position on his charts, however, he kept thinking that the coordinates were wrong. When he walked back to his house, he checked again and knew that it was not Bradfield; he then phoned in his report. Sky Watcher mentions that Utsunomiya san also discovered comets in 1975 and 1985... so he feels he is destined for a discovery every 10 years.

[Recovering Hermit]

Watermelon seed.

[Recovering Hermit]

Brazil nut.

[GOPJ]

Thanks for the ping.

[Las Vegas Dave]

A good analysis of the McMinneville photos, (one of which is the photo posted), by Dr. Bruce Maccabee PhD, can be found here: http://brumac.8k.com/trent1.html

[SunkenCiv]

I ssw Hynek give a lecture on UFOs, this was late in the 1970s, and probably came about due to “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (one of the worst movies ever made, IMHO, by the way). I remain impressed by his thoughtful and limited claims, and well-structured avenues for study.

[Las Vegas Dave]

Agreed! I was disappointed with the movie when first viewed.

BTW: In Hynek's book, "The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry", there were 4 chapters that (IMO) were the better parts, Close encounters of the first kind, Close encounters of the second kind, Close encounters of the third kind, and Close encounters of the forth kind..

This is where the title of the movie came from...

[SunkenCiv]

Heh... I knew that... and Hynek was hired as technical advisor on the film.