CIA UAP 010 REPORT ON CONVERSATIONS WITH SOVIET SCIENTISTS ON SUBJECT OF UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS IS THE USSR

| : essa eeoeseeeacneneestoneapneees — - soiitittesssc dtearaea tec gE ce gasped ——_—_EKx—sxxsec— x eee Te ae OC OC TCT ee se | _ This material contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning of the Espionage taws, Tile FB. USC, Sets, 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law. | | | Beheatiore oo Pevjnct of Daidentttieg wl tk Coe ( _ Wiyiog COlecta tu the VOOR lllUlldlC—€™6=€6ClhCUMO PAGES bagi “4 O. Lt i . ; #. . . .... . .. ....... #Y- Gane ~~ F. _ #.. .. re.F is a cod none day eee lree,”r”:tr—(“‘:SSOStiti*<“C‘C i‘ (‘ac SOO.U.!.ULU.!UWUmUmUDULULU ae .h...mr.rmrmrt”COC™C—*N (CN .wtststts:t:””:~—:C~Oi—“‘“C‘CCRNCO®O#C*#C;C;sSs Pia a el hhllrtttssi‘C‘CO;COWOUO:#ONWCNONO#ONO!O:COCOCt#C.UCL CL rt ame 1S NEV AL LIATER IN Ol Te rrrrr—~—r——“‘C ‘C‘COO;CONOCOCOCi‘C#’RRSC:si‘<ySCCO a | SOURCE US citizen; an astrophysicist on the staff of a lerge research ine | ___ stitute. The information in thie report vas extracted frome memorandum he = | le ee ..hltrti(“‘i‘CO®‘CONONROOi‘i‘(CO(#YRQRCOWOWOC:..Ctw;wi‘COOCSCSCisi‘C‘CCCir [a =—s—“‘ié ine | ___ stitute. The information in thie report vas extracted frome memorandum he = | le ee ..hltrti(“‘i‘CO®‘CONONROOi‘i‘(CO(#YRQRCOWOWOC:..Ctw;wi‘COOCSCSCisi‘C‘CCCir [a =—s—“‘ié«N TAG zeporet vas developed by an Air Force (AFNIN) representative se- agree Se ENO GERhce Of préparation.) —l-tc ( tkttmtmtmwm™wm™m—™—~—~wOO~™O~O~C~COC:C™”*C*C*CSCiSzS i CCrCt..—.—UOCU—C._—i‘<‘i'iriséCw@”*:*;*:*:*:*:*:~”:”:”:”:”:”O”COUCOC:~:~:*:«:*:*:*‘CSCOC*OC:O:~*:*SC*:*:w:s:s:w:s:~:~:~:S:C:~:~:~:CS@?*SC‘(<CS*;*; | 4. This report is an account of conversationc] exchanges on the subject of = | .__ _WRO's durin= the conrse of a one-month trip of « US scientist through = | the USSR in the spring of 1967, for the purpose of visiting several astro- = | >) momiecal observetories having staff members engaged in planetary research, == | [a =—s—“‘«—‘itsé:‘onily ‘sechgntists contacted uring the trip were astronomers, and in- =| | -—-—-—=s«quiiies concerning Soviet observations and interpretations of UFO's = = = = | -—s ware a minor aspect of the trip. Within these limitations, en attempt = = | |. __-—swas made to assent Soviet scientific thinking on this controverstel = = = = | ______B Fadio astronomer, = phatically stated that he knew of no sightings = —-—_—__ of UFO's im the USSR and added with « leugh that if they were only seen | | te the OH they want , en attempt = = | |. __-—swas made to assent Soviet scientific thinking on this controverstel = = = = | ______B Fadio astronomer, = phatically stated that he knew of no sightings = —-—_—__ of UFO's im the USSR and added with « leugh that if they were only seen | | te the OH they want be of Soviet origin. = = i ws ) | ___ 3, At the Pulkovo Observatory, Leningrad, omof the astronomers mentioned = =— | a eee, Fee Nae wneeere of any etuiy potas Wede of Chom Dut ves ope | |. & The US scientist's wsin visit wae to N.A, Kozyrev, who was very inter=- ss | | ~~ ested in the problem, He had read Menzel'a book (which has been trans- ss ' | _ lated into Russian) but did not accept his conclusions. Kozyrev knew = 8 == a =—_—“‘(té OD =f Such ightinge are not printed in Soviet newspapers because = | | —CséROy Gre not reserded as scientific observations. (Comment: thists = | | -—CsAntieresting in view of the readiners of Soviet newspapers to print ree | | —«—=s more imaginative members of the scientific commmity. Apparently some | fs official sanction ts needed.) Kozyrev has beer interested in US ree = | 2 = =——i‘(asCrt Of UFO's and readily accepts their reality. In fact, it is his §§§ , | | | 3 __ Personal opinion that the UFO's may originate on Venus. He is well = 4 | ) | a _ aware of the negative effect of “enlightened” scientific opinion on =, — | | 1 ____ he interpretation of questionable observations as he hae had personal =— as, / a ees ees i Weta 1 -. 2. a es a ee . 8 The Jasemation dadeualldca Hea st thie document FOC INGE 1 dae fe cian employes: — ad aclive duly miliary parionne! wiohin the leligente components | the Ui — as, / a ees ees i Weta 1 -. 2. a es a ee . 8 The Jasemation dadeualldca Hea st thie document FOC INGE 1 dae fe cian employes: — ad aclive duly miliary parionne! wiohin the leligente components | the Ui mentor agencies tnd o hoe tnar als ho mans aancias who wus ac ipon the heron Hoven, sl speciicnlly controled = | | 1 Bplsocesingd opened oityh gh ataiak dada apron ge parc omecert ge aideteny domed agencias of the U. 5. Government directly | L_ athcigeting m the production of National invelligence, 1T SHAUL NOT BE DISSEMINATED TO CONTRACTORS. It shall not be vissuminsted 10 organise: | [Hane personnal, inching consdtots, under © contract rolaionsip to the U. §. Government witht the wien perminion of the srigingle2, | ©... §— |... eo ke a CONTROLLED DISSEM = -goeneretepeeeriet— NO DISSE’ ABROAD &f 1. 00-B-321/23490-67 experience of this effect. (Comment: Kozyrev is a controversial figure in the Soviet scientific community as well as internationally, Appar- ently one of his questionable observations (the activity of the central peak in the lunar crater Alphonsus) has turned out to be correct, On the other hand, it is really more accurate to say that this observation led to an intensive search for activity on the Moon that has produced some positive results, There may be no connection between the two sete of data, however.) 5. <At the Main Astronomical Observatory, Kiev, little interest is shown in the UFO question. I.K. Koval mentioned that he and several other as- tronomers had been out in the countryside one evening and had seen a curious, reddish object flashing through the sky that they were convinced was neither @ satellite nor a meteorite, However, their immediate in- terpretation was that this object might have been a fragment of a satel- lite UFO question. I.K. Koval mentioned that he and several other as- tronomers had been out in the countryside one evening and had seen a curious, reddish object flashing through the sky that they were convinced was neither @ satellite nor a meteorite, However, their immediate in- terpretation was that this object might have been a fragment of a satel- lite or rocket returniag from orbit, burning up in the atmosphere. Koval thought that UFO's had been seen in the USSR but he could not be specific as to locations and characteristics. 6. At the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, Crimea, again little interest was shown. One of the astronomers, L.I. Galkin, was with the group men- tioned by Koval and confirmed the observation of a peculiar object. He did not discuss the experience in detail but clearly had been struck by the possibility that the object might have been a "saucer." : 7, At the Astrophysical Institute, Alma Ata, there was considerable interest. The institute includes an Atmospheric Optics Section presided over by G.S. Lifschitz. However, the initial discussion of the problem was with the director of the institue, G.M. Idlis. He too had read Menzel's book, but considered it an adequate treatment of the subject which he ‘ consequently felt was closed. He indicated that no observations of UFO's A had been made by his etaff and that they had received no reports of such observations, However, when the US scientist proceeded to indicate the results of McDonald's critical study of the problem, Idlie readily con- ceded that there might be more to it and concluded by stating that it was "clearly still an open question." 8. Another astronomer mentioned that in ths northern part of Kazakhstan there had been repeated sightings of ball lightning. The University in Alma At. had sent a team out to investigate and discovered that what wa: Hn, being seen were reflections of automobile headlights from an inversion —~ layer, 9. Later, a discussion was held with Lifschitz. He was not very impressed ~ . with Menzel's book, but was also not impressed with the significance of the phenomenon. It is possible that some interest was kindled that might lead to additional investigetions, 10. A stellar spectroscopist, seen were reflections of automobile headlights from an inversion —~ layer, 9. Later, a discussion was held with Lifschitz. He was not very impressed ~ . with Menzel's book, but was also not impressed with the significance of the phenomenon. It is possible that some interest was kindled that might lead to additional investigetions, 10. A stellar spectroscopist, Dr. wu Kupo, was also interested in this problem, partly as an adjunct to her attempts to locate fragments from bolides. Sha was eleo dissatisfied with Menzel's book and felt that there was definitely an opportunity for additional research, 11. ‘The general feeling one gets is that no official treatment of the UFO problem has been given in the USSR, Instead people refer to the US wo work, principally Menzei's book, to demonstrate the absence of real § scientific problems. At the same time, there is an almost universal y * awareness of the history and characteristics of the phenomenon often as- Moe sociated with considerable interewt. The result is that a demonstration { of the inadequacy of US Official «explanations coupled with some proof of ms : the reality of the observations might excite entinsiesm more rapidly among Soviet astronomers than among their US counterparts who are more strongly influenced by the officiul ridicule associated with UFO's in Ss the Us. | : | 8 : . | « end - ‘4 2, 3 Hoc ql ‘4 s ; a ae : ; : Be ; © : p38 Wi. | ae sa — en