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This case has been presented as one of the strongest and demonstrably "genuine" flying saucer sightings. It contains an obvious and simple internal inconsistency, which is pointed out by D. H. Menzel and L. G. Boyd.
Background:
This sighting is described in considerable detail in "A.P.R.O. Special Report No. 1" (Fontes, 1961; ref. 1). According to this description, the two witnesses, one a press photographer and the other a reporter of O Cruzeiro magazine, were on a "routine job for their magazine." Dr. Fontes, a Brazilian representative of A.P.R.O., quotes a television discussion of the case by Fenando Cleto, described as a "high ranking employee of the Bank of Brazil" and a leading Brazilian UFO private investigator (ref. 1):
At 4:30 PM, [witness II] suddenly spotted an object approaching in the air at high speed. He thought at first it was an airplane he was facing [see photo no. 1]. . . . There was still something strange, he realized. That "plane" was flying sideways."
He shouted, "What the devil is that?" [Witness I] had his Rolleiflex at hand and [witness II] yelled, "Shoot . . . ."
[Witness I] grabbed his loaded camera and got five pictures in about 60 seconds, thus obtaining
the most sensational photographic sequence of a "flying disc." [Two of these photos are reproduced in Plates 28 and 29, kindly supplied by APRO].
Dr. Fontes' report (1) continues with Mr. Cleto's account of
Brazilian Air Force analysis of the photos. Mr. Cleto stated that he
had been "authorized" by Brazilian Air Force officials to show some
of the Air Force documents on the case. Mr. Cleto stated that certain
diagrams provided by the Air Force "demonstrated . . . the absolute
impossibility of a hoax" by virtue of distances and altitudes
depicted. These dimensions exceeded the limits for a small model
thrown by hand. Dr. Fontes also states that the graphic analyses and
photographs constitute "absolute photographic evidence that the
unconventional aerial objects called UFOs or 'flying saucers' are
real."
Diagrams, apparently hand-lettered, are presented in reference 1 as
based on "results obtained by the Air Force's top photography experts
who did the analysis of the photos, including also the data,
calculations and estimations obtained in the methodical and
exhaustive technical investigations made at the spot where the
pictures had been taken." Among their tests, the Air Force analysts
made photographs of a hand-thrown wooden model (later confusing the
case because of resulting local rumors that men had been seen
photographing obvious models). However, no satisfactory justification
is given for the distances from observer to disk, indicated on the
diagrams as being on the scale of several kilometers.
In general, the Colorado project has avoided cases outside North
America because of the difficulty of obtaining first hand evidence.
It is not instructive to go into further detail about the history of
the Barra da Tijuca case, because the information is third-hand and
channeled through individuals we have not interviewed. (Experience
has shown that this is usually unsatisfactory).
In spite of this case's presentation as one of the most convincing of
all, with "official documents . . . perspective studies and
mathematical calculations . . . cold, scientific facts" (Fontes'
emphasis), the case contains an obvious internal inconsistency that
has still not been adequately explained. Menzel and Boyd (2) pointed
out that on one of the photos, the disk is clearly illuminated from
the left, while the hillside below appears to be illuminated from the
right. They flatly label the case as a hoax.
Plates 28 and 29 show two representative frames of the series of
photos. Plate 29 is the photo in question; the lighting of the disk
is easily verified. Plate 30 is an enlargement of the hillside, and
the palm tree as well as certain clumps of foliage appear to be
illuminated from the right, in accord with Dr. Menzel's observation.
A map included in the Fontes report shows the Barra da Tijuca region.
It appears from this map that the hills range clockwise for NW to SSW
of the camera, while the sea stretches from WNW to SW. At 4:30 p.m.
in May the sun, seen from this point near latitude 24° S,
would be in the NW. The analytic diagrams based on the Air Force
results show the sun at elevation 27½° and show the
UFO approaching from the direction of the sun, then moving off to the
right. This would seem to be in accord with the photos: Plate 28
appears to be backlighted and there would be hills to the right
of the sun. However, the map is not explicit enough to determine
which hills are shown, and the lighting of the hills suggests they
may be the ridge SSW of the camera (far left of the sun).
Conclusion:
The objection raised by Dr. Menzel is supported by our independent
enlargement of one of the frames (kindly provided by APRO).
This case is presented as an example of photographs which have been
described as incontrovertible evidence of flying saucers, yet which
contain a simple and obvious internal inconsistency.
Sources of Information:
Plate 28: Barra da Tijuca Photo 1
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Plate 29: Barra da Tijuca Photo 4
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Plate 30: Detail of Plate 29
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