Georgia's Aerial Phenomenon 1947 to 1987

This visual artifact titled “Georgia’s Aerial Phenomenon 1947-1987” displays a vast array of information regarding UFO sightings in Georgia. Displaying known reports as of August 4, 1997, the visual provides many different ways for the data to be presented, such as columns, tables, charts, a map, a graph, and multiple drawings of specific sightings. Attached to the upper left-hand corner is the business card of Roswell policeman Michael D. Hitt, the curator of this artifact. Beginning on the left-hand side is a list of the various counties in which sightings were reported and the dates correlating to those sightings. In the center, there is a map of Georgia with the county borders outlined to allow the viewer to gain context and perspective on the locations listed. Below the map is a graph titled “Number of Known Reported Sightings in Georgia by Year” which reports both the number of total sightings and the number of sightings reported by police. This graph helps show that there is a relatively constant rate of reports, except for in 1973 in which there was a large influx, possibly due to the effects of the ongoing Cold War and the space race between the United States and the USSR. In the top right-hand corner, a chart denotes the number of reports that were made by policemen, pilots, military, and other professions. Hitt, a policeman himself, made a point in emphasizing reports made by officials due to their higher perceived credibility and trend of being well-documented. Scattered down the right side of the page are more charts reporting information about the time in which the sightings took place, including day of the week, month, and time of day. Continuing down the page, the last three charts provide information of the dates on which “Radar Contact with Aerial Object” was made, dates on which “Cases with Physical Effects” took place, and two dates that had “Reported Close Encounters with Life Forms with aerial sightings.” The rest of the page is filled in with pictures and diagrams of specific UFO sightings in Georgia. These sketch reproductions were made by Chuck Brown and were sourced almost exclusively from eyewitnesses themselves. One of the strongest arguments against the idea that all UFO’s are simply vague lights in the sky that could be anything, is the observation and documentation of craftlike objects that have interacted with the environment and humans themselves. This artifact attempts to display as many of the details and specifics of the “craftlike appearance [which] includes geometrically shaped objects (usually disks, ovals, or ellipses), body lights in particular arrays, windows or portholes, domes, legs, sound, and signs of propulsion (exhaust or emissions)” while still staying accurate and close to the source of information (Hall 437). Other sketches, however, tend to look like blobs or smudged shapes. Nonetheless, these sketches and the documentation of craftlike entities provide much more relevance and credibility to UFO sightings and unexplained phenomena.

Metadata

Contributor – Chuck Brown
Coverage - Georgia
Creator – Michael Hitt
Date – 1997 (August 4, 1997)
Description – A visual artifact composed of many different facets of data concerning UFO sightings and reports in Georgia from 1947 – 1987, represented through charts, tables, diagrams/drawings, a graph, and a map.
Format – Light blue colored, thick paper; visual artifact with many diagrams and drawings
Language – English
Subject – UFO sightings in Georgia
Title – Georgia’s Aerial Phenomenon
Type – Presentation of gathered data

Citations:

Brown, Charles and Hitt, Michael “Georgia’s Aerial Phenomenon 1947 to 1987.” UFO Sightings. Carton 50, Folder 15. Georgiana Vertical Files collection- General topical files, MS 3609. Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries. Accessed 7 Nov 2019

Hall, Richard H.. The UFO Evidence: A Thirty-Year Report, Scarecrow Press, 2001. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ugalib/detail.action?docID=1221440.