UFOs in the daily Press:

At the heart of the flying saucer mystery

IX. -- Mirages, weather balloons, shooting stars... The world of illusions

What are flying saucers: illusions? Real craft? If they exist, where do they come from? How do they move? Many scientists have studied this problem. Meteorology has been identified as the cause of a number of supposed flying saucers, with its weather balloons released daily and its bright signals launched at night to measure cloud height. Shooting stars and meteors have also explained some mysterious sightings in the sky.

Refraction phenomena have often been mistaken for flying craft. First, mirages. A mirage occurs when a ray of light is distorted as it passes through layers of air at different temperatures. The ray travels faster through overheated, highly expanded air but slows down on the side where the air is colder and denser, causing it to curve instead of following a straight line. For example, for a pilot flying above a layer of hot air, a star may appear to be resting on the ground. Conversely, for someone below the hot air layer, car headlights might seem to float in the sky. [False.]

Parhelia can also create the illusion of flying saucers. These are refraction phenomena caused by tiny high-altitude ice crystals. The result is a bright horizontal ring passing through the sun, sometimes featuring luminous spots known as "false suns." [Completely misleading illustration.]

Finally, the hypothesis of saucers as terrestrial craft cannot be ignored. During the last world war, early V2 rocket projects initially seemed absurd to many German scientists. Some claimed, for example, that the rocket's noise would be so loud that, if launched from Calais [incorrect], it would wake not only the English but even the Swedes.

As we know, this was not the case - much to the misfortune of Londoners.

Today, it is proven that several scientists in the past have designed rockets and craft that bear a striking resemblance to the cigars and saucers seen in the sky today. One cannot attempt to unravel the mystery without considering their efforts. [Completely misleading illustration.]