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Revision as of 15:16, 19 May 2007 by Perfectblue97 (talk | contribs) (→Object and investigation: small refactor)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Jimmy Carter UFO Incident is the name given to an incident in which former US President Jimmy Carter reported that he saw an unidentified flying object. The sighting occurred in 1969 in Leary, Georgia, two years before he became Governor of Georgia. In September 1973, while Carter was the Governor of Georgia, the International UFO Bureau in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma asked him to file a report on his sighting. Carter responded to the request and filed a report.
At the time of the sighting, Carter was district governor of fifty-six chapters of the Lions Club, and he was to give a speech at a meeting of the Leary, Georgia chapter. As such, he filed a report of the meeting with the headquarters of the Lions Club, but the report did not mention seeing a UFO. The UFO report Carter filled out in 1973 gave "October 1969" as the date of the sighting; however, an investigation of records of the Lions Club national headquarters ascertained that the actual date was January 6, 1969 (Sheaffer 1998:18–28) harvcol error: no target: CITEREFSheaffer1998 (help).
The June 8, 1976 issue of The National Enquirer incorrectly reported the event as being in Thomaston, Georgia in 1973 and contained other errors (Sheaffer 1998:18–19) harvcol error: no target: CITEREFSheaffer1998 (help). NICAP obtained a copy of the report and published it in the February 1977 issue of their monthly publication UFO Investigator. NICAP typed Carter's responses (except for his signature) onto a form that was altered to appear that Carter had submitted his report to NICAP (Story 1980) harvcol error: no target: CITEREFStory1980 (help).
Sighting
On the evening of January 6, 1969 Carter, then a contender for the governorship of Georgia, was preparing for a Lions Club meeting at which he was scheduled to give a speech. At about 7:15 p.m (EST), one of the guests called his attention to a strange object about 30 degrees above the horizon to the west of where he was standing. Carter described the object as being bright white, self luminous, and as being about as bright as the moon. It was said to have appeared to close in on where he was standing but to have stopped beyond a stand of pine trees some distance from him. The object then changed color, first to blue, then to red, then back to white, before appearing to recede into the distance. Carter felt that the object was self-luminous, but not a solid object. Carter's report indicates that it was witnessed by about ten or twelve other people, and was in view for ten to twelve minutes before it passed out of sight.
Speaking in a 2005 interview, Carter states:
"I was preparing to give a speech to a Lions Club ..... all of a sudden, one of the men looked up and said, 'Look, over in the west!' And there was a bright light in the sky. We all saw it. And then the light, it got closer and closer to us. And then it stopped, I don’t know how far away, but it stopped beyond the pine trees. And all of a sudden it changed color to blue, and then it changed to red, then back to white. And we were trying to figure out what in the world it could be, and then it receded into the distance."
Personal impact
The sighting is said to have had a personal impact on Carter and his perception of UFO and UFO sightings. During his 1976 election campaign, he is said to have told reporters that, as a result of it, he would institute a policy of openness if he were elected to office, saying:
"One thing's for sure, I'll never make fun of people who say they've seen unidentified objects in the sky. If I become President, I'll make every piece of information this country has about UFO sightings available to the public and the scientists."
Despite his earlier pledge, once elected, Carter distanced himself from disclosure, citing "defense implications" as being behind his decision.
Object and investigation
According to an investigation held in 1976, some seven years after the event, most of those present at the meeting either did not recall the event, or did not recall it as being anything important. According to Fred Hart, the only guest to clearly remember seeing the object, "It seems like there was a little—like a blue light or something or other in the sky that night ... like some kind of weather balloon they send out or something ... it had been pretty far back in my mind." (Sheaffer 1998:21–22) harvcol error: no target: CITEREFSheaffer1998 (help)
While puzzled by the object and its origins Carter, himself, later said that while had considered the object to be a UFO - on the grounds it was not explained - his knowledge of physics had meant he had not believed himself to be witnessing an alien spacecraft.
Based on the location and time, many investigators have since conclude that the object was Venus being witnessed across the horizon (Sheaffer 1998:25–27) harvcol error: no target: CITEREFSheaffer1998 (help), (Peebles 1994:205) harvcol error: no target: CITEREFPeebles1994 (help).
International UFO Bureau report
- The report Carter submitted (page 1) The report Carter submitted (page 1)
- The report Carter submitted (page 2) The report Carter submitted (page 2)
References
- ^ Carter, Jimmy (1969) Report to the International UFO Bureau in Oklahoma City (PDF)
- http://www.debunker.com/texts/carter_ufo.html
- ^ Hylton, Wil S. (2005) "The Gospel According to Jimmy", GQ
- Good, Timothy (1989) "Above Top Secret: The Worldwide U.F.O. Cover-Up" Quill, ISBN: 0688092020
- This day in history - "1973: Carter files report on UFO sighting", The History Channel
- Martin, Robert Scott (October 15, 1999). "Celebrities Have Close Encounters, Too". Space.com. Retrieved 2004-04-16.
- Horvath, Alex (February 7, 2003). "Bolinas man's film says we are not alone". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- Stenger, Richard (October 22, 2002). "Clinton aide slams Pentagon's UFO secrecy". CNN. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
