Jimmy Carter UFO incident
Encyclopedia
The Jimmy Carter UFO Incident is the name given to an incident in which Jimmy Carter
(US President
1977-1981) reported seeing an unidentified flying object
while at Leary
, Georgia
in 1969.
While governor of Georgia, Carter was asked to file a report of the sighting by the International UFO Bureau in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
, which he did in September 1973. Since its writing, the report has been discussed several times by both ufologists and by members of the mainstream media
. Carter does not think that it was an alien spacecraft.
meeting. At about 7:15 p.m (EST
), one of the guests called his attention to a strange object that was visible about 30 degrees above the horizon to the west of where he was standing. Carter described the object as being bright white and as being about as bright as the moon. It was said to have appeared to have closed in on where he was standing but to have stopped beyond a stand of pine trees some distance from him. The object is then said to have 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 in nature. 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.
In 1973 Carter said
Speaking in a 2005 interview, Carter states:
According to a meeting report that he filed with the Lions Club, Carter gave his Leary speech on January 6, 1969, not in October. The setting of his January meeting as described in his report to the Lions Club also matches the setting that he would later describe to the media when speaking about his sighting. His report to the Lions Club made no mention of the sighting itself .
Other evidence uncovered rules out the October 1969 date and is consistent with January 1969: (1) Carter visited the Leary Lions Club in his capacity as district governor of the Lions Club. His term ended in June 1969. (2) The Leary Lions Club disbanded several months before October 1969 .
While puzzled by the object and its origins Carter, himself, later said that while he had considered the object to be a UFO—on the grounds it was unexplained—his knowledge of physics
had meant he had not believed himself to be witnessing an alien
spacecraft
.
On January 6, 1969 the sky was clear in Leary and the planet Venus
was near its maximum brightness and in the direction described by Carter. Ufologist Robert Sheaffer
concluded that the object that Carter witnessed was a misidentification of Venus . This could also be the Venus "Halo" http://www.clearskies.se/Venus%20halo%20&%20Earthshine.htm, as was discussed on The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe
podcast #105 in a 2007 interview with Jimmy Carter. In the interview Carter stated that he did not believe the object was Venus, explaining that he was an amateur astronomer and knew what Venus looked like. He also said that as a scientist he did not believe it was an alien craft and at the time assumed it was probably a military aircraft from a nearby base. However, he said that the object did not make any sound like a helicopter would do. Carter also said that he did not believe that any extraterrestrials have visited Earth. He also stated he knows of no government cover-up of extraterrestrial visits and that the rumors that the CIA refused to give him information about UFOs are not true.
Despite his earlier pledge, once elected, Carter distanced himself from disclosure, citing "defense implications" as being behind his decision.
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
(US President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
1977-1981) reported seeing an unidentified flying object
Unidentified flying object
A term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...
while at Leary
Leary, Georgia
Leary is a city in Calhoun County, Georgia in the United States. The population was 666 at the 2000 census. Seattle Mariners third baseman Chone Figgins was born in Leary.-Geography:Leary is located at ....
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
in 1969.
While governor of Georgia, Carter was asked to file a report of the sighting by the International UFO Bureau in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
, which he did in September 1973. Since its writing, the report has been discussed several times by both ufologists and by members of the mainstream media
Mainstream media
Mainstream media are those media disseminated via the largest distribution channels, which therefore represent what the majority of media consumers are likely to encounter...
. Carter does not think that it was an alien spacecraft.
Sighting
One evening in 1969, two years before he became governor of Georgia, Carter was preparing to give a speech at a Lions ClubLions Clubs International
Lions Clubs International is a secular service organization with over 44,500 clubs and more than 1,368,683 members in 191 countries around the world founded by Melvin Jones Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, United States, the organization aims to meet the needs of communities on a local and...
meeting. At about 7:15 p.m (EST
North American Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
), one of the guests called his attention to a strange object that was visible about 30 degrees above the horizon to the west of where he was standing. Carter described the object as being bright white and as being about as bright as the moon. It was said to have appeared to have closed in on where he was standing but to have stopped beyond a stand of pine trees some distance from him. The object is then said to have 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
Luminous
Luminous may refer to:* Luminous , the sixth release from American Futurepop band Cesium 137* Luminous , a 1998 short story collection by Greg Egan* Luminous, LLC, a contact lens company with headquarters in Portland, Oregon...
, but not a solid in nature. 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.
In 1973 Carter said
"There were about twenty of us standing outside of a little restaurant, I believe, a high school lunch room, and a kind of green light appeared in the western sky. This was right after sundown. It got brighter and brighter. And then it eventually disappeared. It didn't have any solid substance to it, it was just a very peculiar-looking light. None of us could understand what it was."
Speaking in a 2005 interview, Carter states:
"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."
Date of the sighting
The exact date on which the sighting occurred has been called into question by investigators. According to the report that he filed with the International UFO Bureau four years after the incident, Carter saw the UFO in October 1969. However investigators have cited Lions Club records as evidence that it occurred nine months earlier .According to a meeting report that he filed with the Lions Club, Carter gave his Leary speech on January 6, 1969, not in October. The setting of his January meeting as described in his report to the Lions Club also matches the setting that he would later describe to the media when speaking about his sighting. His report to the Lions Club made no mention of the sighting itself .
Other evidence uncovered rules out the October 1969 date and is consistent with January 1969: (1) Carter visited the Leary Lions Club in his capacity as district governor of the Lions Club. His term ended in June 1969. (2) The Leary Lions Club disbanded several months before October 1969 .
Object and investigation
According to an investigation carried out 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 contacted who remembered 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."While puzzled by the object and its origins Carter, himself, later said that while he had considered the object to be a UFO—on the grounds it was unexplained—his knowledge of physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
had meant he had not believed himself to be witnessing an alien
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
spacecraft
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
.
On January 6, 1969 the sky was clear in Leary and the planet Venus
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
was near its maximum brightness and in the direction described by Carter. Ufologist Robert Sheaffer
Robert Sheaffer
Robert Sheaffer , in Chicago, IL is a freelance writer and a prominent investigator of unidentified flying objects, Christianity, academic feminism, and many other subjects...
concluded that the object that Carter witnessed was a misidentification of Venus . This could also be the Venus "Halo" http://www.clearskies.se/Venus%20halo%20&%20Earthshine.htm, as was discussed on The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe
The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe
The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is a weekly, 80 minute podcast hosted by Steven Novella, MD, and a panel of "skeptical rogues". It is the official podcast of the New England Skeptical Society, and is produced in conjunction with the James Randi Educational Foundation...
podcast #105 in a 2007 interview with Jimmy Carter. In the interview Carter stated that he did not believe the object was Venus, explaining that he was an amateur astronomer and knew what Venus looked like. He also said that as a scientist he did not believe it was an alien craft and at the time assumed it was probably a military aircraft from a nearby base. However, he said that the object did not make any sound like a helicopter would do. Carter also said that he did not believe that any extraterrestrials have visited Earth. He also stated he knows of no government cover-up of extraterrestrial visits and that the rumors that the CIA refused to give him information about UFOs are not true.
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.
Early reports in the media
- Carter Once Saw a UFO on 'Very Sober Occasion, by Howell Raines, Atlanta Constitution, Sept. 14, 1973, p. 1D
- Carter's story appeared in the June 8, 1976 issue of The National EnquirerThe National EnquirerThe National Enquirer is an American supermarket tabloid now published by American Media Inc . Founded in 1926, the tabloid has gone through a variety of changes over the years....
. This account contained a number of errors, including incorrectly stating that the event occurred in Thomaston, Georgia in 1973, and that sighting was after the club meeting .
- Hayden Hughs of International UFO Bureau wrote an article that appeared in the November 1976 issue of Argosy UFO (a spin-off of ArgosyArgosy (magazine)Argosy was an American pulp magazine, published by Frank Munsey. It is generally considered to be the first American pulp magazine. The magazine began as a general information periodical entitled The Golden Argosy, targeted at the boys adventure market.-Launch of Argosy:In late September 1882,...
).
- In February 1977, NICAPNational Investigations Committee On Aerial PhenomenaThe National Investigations Committee On Aerial Phenomena was a civilian unidentified flying object research group active in the United States from the 1950s to the 1980s.-Overview:...
republished Carter's original report in UFO Investigator, but altered his handwritten report to make it appear that it had been submitted directly to NICAP as a typed document. .
- The April 30, 1977 edition of The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
ran the story on the front page, incorrectly giving the date as 1973. The identification of the UFO as Venus ran in a small item in the May 9, 1977 issue . - President Carter's "UFO" Is Identified as the Planet Venus, by Robert Sheaffer, Humanist magazine, July-August, 1977, p. 46
- Learyites leery of Carter's encounter: No one recalls 1970 UFO spotting, by Tom Tiede, Mt. Pleasant Daily Tribune (Texas), Feb. 2, 1978
External links
- Carter UFO Incident - Presidential UFO
- Files on President Jimmy Carter's interest in UFO's
- Skepticast 105 - Interview with Jimmy Carter - The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe