THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP SIGHTINGS REPORT

1952: An Amateur Astronomer and His Son Watch Four Dark Objects Cross the Face of the Full Moon Over Miami

At 9:15 p.m. EST on April 5, 1952, an amateur astronomer and his son in Miami, Florida, watching the full moon, saw four dark shapes pass across its face in about one second. The objects were circular, dark and opaque, and invisible except when outlined against the moon.

One of them, seen more plainly than the others, was about half the moon’s diameter and had a sharply defined leading edge. Another did not pass directly in front of the moon. The sighting was recorded on a Project Blue Book card and in a status report extract that gives the heading as 90 degrees and no conclusions. Blue Book lists this Miami, Florida UFO case as Unidentified.

Date: April 5, 1952

Sighting Time: 9:15 p.m. EST (2115 hours); 0215Z April 6

Day/Night: Night; full moon

Location: Miami, Florida

Urban or Rural: Urban

No. of Entity’s: Not Applicable

Entity Type: Not Applicable

Entity Description: Not Applicable

Hynek Classification: Not assigned in the file; dark objects seen in silhouette against the moon

Duration: 1 second

No. of Object(s): 4

Description of the Object(s): Dark, opaque, circular objects invisible except when outlined against the moon

Shape/Size/Color of Object(s): Circular, dark, opaque; the most plainly seen was about half the moon’s diameter with a sharply defined leading edge

Distance to Object(s): Not given

Height & Speed: Unknown; straight and level; heading 90 degrees

Number of Witnesses: 2 (an amateur astronomer and his son)

Special Features/Characteristics: Four shapes crossing the full moon in about one second; one more plainly seen; another did not pass directly in front of the moon

Case Status: Blue Book: Unidentified (the card lists Other: Unidentified; Insufficient Data and Unknown are also marked)

Source: Project Blue Book record card; status report extract; Blue Book April list; Berliner

Summary/Description: An amateur astronomer and his son saw four dark, opaque circular objects cross the full moon in about a second. The surviving file is one card and one status extract with no conclusions.

Detailed Report

The Project Blue Book record card records an observation on April 5, 1952 at 2115 EST (0215 GMT on April 6) at Miami, Florida, by ground-visual observation, no photographs. The source is an amateur astronomer and his son. The length of observation is 1 second, the number of objects is 4 and the description is dark-opaque, circular, straight and level.

The card’s comments read that the source observed four objects pass the full moon. One object, more plainly seen, was half the moon’s diameter, had a sharply defined leading edge and was opaque. The other objects did not pass directly in front of the full moon.

The extract from Status Report No. 7 repeats the date and the local time of 2115 EST with the location Miami, Fla., the length of time observed not reported, sound, speed and altitude unknown, a heading of 90 degrees and the source as civilians. The action or comments read “No conclusions.” The description of the incident reads: “Four dark shapes passed across face of moon, objects were circular, dark, opaque and invisible except when outlined against moon.”

The Blue Book April list shows Miami as Unidentified. The card has Other: Unidentified written in, with the Insufficient Data and Unknown boxes also marked.

RESEARCHER’S NOTES

A One-Second Silhouette and a Thin File

Thin File. The surviving record is one card and one extract. There is no statement, sketch, distance or follow-up, so the case cannot be tested.
The Witnesses. This page names L. E. VanDercar and his 9-year-old son from Berliner. The card says amateur astronomer and son; the status extract blacks out the name.
Classification. The card marks Insufficient Data and Unknown and writes Other: Unidentified; Blue Book’s list shows Unidentified.

Miami is a short, odd, observer-quality case: someone who knows the sky watching the moon, and four dark shapes crossing it. There is nothing more in the file, which is itself the point; this is one of April’s Unidentified cases that rests on a single glance.

«Four dark shapes passed across face of moon, objects were circular, dark, opaque and invisible except when outlined against moon.»
— Project Blue Book status report extract, Miami, Florida, April 5, 1952