#tbt - Close Encounters of the Dot Kind

The timing couldn’t have been better! 

As MidPointe Library patrons took part in its popular Summer Reading Program a few days ago, a possible UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) was sighted in the Greater Dayton and surrounding areas! 

For Summer Reading participants, it would become another tale in the “Universe of Stories” they’d been enjoying ever since Summer Reading began! Its Outer Space-themed programming, special guests, prizes for reading and more activities for all ages will conclude July 31. (*) 

According to the Journal News, the “bright, white dot spotted over the Dayton area and numerous suburbs...could be part of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, also known as DARPA...” (1) 

According to the article, a Department of Defense spokeswoman said that “DARPA launched three balloons from Cumberland, Maryland, in a flight test for the Adaptable Lighter Than Air Program..” It explained that “ALTA will demonstrate capability for wind-borne navigation of a lighter-than-air vehicle over extended ranges.” 

UFOs are part of Ohio history. After all, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton was once the headquarters of “Project Blue Book,” a decades-long study of apparent UFO sightings. 

According to “The Big Book of UFO Facts, Figures & Truth,”  “Project Blue Book” ran from 1947 to 1969 and received a total of 12,618 sightings. Of those, 701 remain “unidentified.” The program was eventually shut down...” (2) 

Following its termination, “Documentation regarding the former Project Blue Book investigation was permanently transferred to the Modern Military Branch of the National Archives and Records Service in Washington, DC...and is available for public review and analysis...” (2) 

“Since the termination of Project Blue Book, nothing has occurred that would support a resumption of UFO investigations by the USAF or NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration),” the book reports. “Given the current environment of steadily decreasing defense and space budgets, it is unlikely that the Air Force or NASA will become involved in this type of costly project in the foreseeable future.” (2) 

However, the “Big Book of UFO Facts...” points out that even Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins [among other astronauts] claimed in an Apollo 11 “technical debriefing” to have seen a UFO “while on their way to the Moon...” in 1969. (2) 

The book shared each astronaut’s description of the unfamiliar object:  

Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin : “The first unusual thing that we saw...was one day out or pretty close to the Moon. It had a sizable dimension to it...we called the ground and were told the [Saturn IV booster] was 6,000 miles away.” (2) 

Neil Armstrong : “[The object] was really two rings. Two connected rings.” (2) 

Michael Collins : “It was a hollow cylinder. But then you could change the focus on the sextant and it would be replaced by this open-book shape. It was really weird.”  (2)

Like their fellow Earthlings, even our astronauts are awed by the mysteries of Space. 

  

Sources: 

(1)”Mysterious Bright White Dot in Butler County area may be part of Department of Defense Program” Photo and article from the Journal News June 21, 2019: 

https://www.journal-news.com/news/local/mysterious-bright-white-dot-dayton-area-may-part-department-defense-program/dI3K0b56zoUNshVwgXAvtO/ 

(2) “The Big Book of UFO Facts, Figures & Truth – A Comprehensive Examination” by Stephen Spignesi & William J. Birnes. Published in 2019 by Skyhorse Publishing and available for checkout at MidPointe Library. 

*If you love all-things-Space, then you’ll be over-the-Moon during MidPointe Library’s Summer Reading Program themed, appropriately, “A Universe of Stories!” Read books for prizes, attend special, fun programs and more! All ages are welcome! Summer Reading ends July 31. For information, go to 

www.midpointelibrary.org > Services > Summer Reading or call any MidPointe location (Middletown, West Chester, Trenton, Monroe, Liberty Township (2nd floor, Liberty Center) and our “Library On Wheels” formerly known as The Bookmobile.  

In the meantime, Space buffs can find a real “universe” of stories and more on MidPointe shelves…

www.midpointelibrary.org > Catalog Search 

And on its voluminous eLibrary available at:  www.midpointelibrary.org > eLibrary. 

By the way…

If you see an Unidentified Flying Object, follow these steps (abbreviated) found in “The Big Book of UFO Facts...”: 

1) Find a witness.

2)Take photos.

3)Make notes.

4)Protect any location where a UFO has landed. 

5)”Most importantly, report your UFO sighting. Call the Center for UFO Studies (1-773-271-3611) any day of the week, any time of the day or night...An investigator will contact you as soon as possible.”  

Good luck and like “Sarge” always said on “Hill Street Blues,” be careful out there!