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NARRATOR: Dr. J. Allen Hynek
was a pioneering scientist

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who developed smart weapons,

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optical tracking systems

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and space satellites.

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But his passion was studying
unidentified flying objects.

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LUIS ELIZONDO:
J. Allen Hynek was

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this very
highly trained scientist

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that was convinced
that there was

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something to this phenomenon.

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NARRATOR:
Dr. Hynek revolutionized

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how UFOs are studied.

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TRAVIS TAYLOR: J. Allen
Hynek took the scientific method

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to the UFO-UAP
problem, and he says,

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"We need to take it serious."

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That changed the
community forever.

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NARRATOR: And as far as
UFO researchers are concerned,

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he helped to establish
that there is a presence

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in our skies that
is not of this world.

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HYNEK: I'm quite certain
there is a real phenomenon.

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It is not all nonsense.

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? ?

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NARRATOR: In the 1940s,

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people around the
world became aware

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of a startling new
phenomenon: flying saucers.

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Over the next several decades,

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a highly renowned astronomer,
astrophysicist and professor

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became the leading proponent
for the study of flying saucers

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and other unidentified
flying objects.

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His name was Dr. J. Allen Hynek.

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Even the grossest
skeptic can't deny

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that the UFO reports
not only exist, but persist.

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We have reports from
133 different countries,

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and the same pattern
exists around the world.

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Many of the reports come

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from highly, highly credible,

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technically trained
people, you see.

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NARRATOR: At a time when
the government, the military

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and nearly the entire
academic community mocked

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and shunned anyone
who spoke about UFOs,

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Hynek had the courage
to treat the topic seriously.

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And as far as
ufologists are concerned,

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Dr. J. Allen Hynek
was the ideal person

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to advocate that UFOs
are a real phenomenon,

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because he started
off as a skeptic,

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hired by the U.S. Air Force
to debunk reports of UFOs.

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J. Allen Hynek is
really the cornerstone,

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I believe, of modern ufology.

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He was a very serious
and credentialed academic

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brought in by the government
to debunk the UAP topic,

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only to be immersed in the topic

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and realize that it's real.

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DAVID CHILDRESS:
Hynek was really viewed

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as the king of ufology.

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He was the one who was saying

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that there's something
going on out there,

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and it's worthy
of scientific study.

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TAYLOR: J. Allen Hynek
actually took the scientific method

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to the UFO-UAP problem.

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And I think that's
the first time

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someone actually started
taking the UFO situation seriously

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and applying methods
that would enable us

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to actually figure
out what it is.

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Dr. Allen Hynek, who
is the leading expert

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on UFOs in this country
and probably in the world.

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It's a very, very
real phenomenon

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of some sort is going on.

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This all calls for some
very real research,

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and no real research
has been done.

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MICHIO KAKU:
Dr. Hynek was fearless,

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saying, "I believe in science,

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"I believe in testability,

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I believe in pushing the
boundaries of science."

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It is my growing
feeling across the years

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that the UFO phenomenon,
not-not any hypothesis,

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but the phenomenon
itself is signaling,

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I think, a coming change
in the scientific paradigm.

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He is one of the, if
not the, founding father

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of modern-day ufology.

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I'm not sure we'd be
here if it wasn't for Hynek.

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NARRATOR: While
Dr. Hynek's focus

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was the modern-day
UFO phenomenon,

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ancient astronaut
theorists point out

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that he was also intrigued
by the theories posed

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by Erich von D�niken in
his groundbreaking book,

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Chariots of the Gods.

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PHIL IMBROGNO: Dr. Hynek
did mention Von D�niken

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a number of times.

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He said, "There are things

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that can't be explained from
a historical point of view,"

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and that we have to consider

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that extraterrestrials
came here a long time ago

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and interfered or
helped human beings

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develop their civilization.

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He said, "You
can't rule it out."

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NARRATOR: But how did
a world-renowned scientist,

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hired by the
military to put an end

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to the so-called
"flying disc craze,"

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end up becoming a champion
for the study of UFOs?

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Joseph Allen Hynek is born
into a working-class family

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of Czechoslovakian immigrants.

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As a young boy, he's
stricken with scarlet fever,

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which leads to a
formative moment in his life.

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ROXANE HYNEK: In those days,

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one of the treatments
was to keep the child in bed.

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So it was almost a
year, something like that.

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So, his mom got him
a book on astronomy.

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And that's what set the
whole thing in motion.

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NARRATOR: By the
time he was a teenager,

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Hynek had also developed
an interest in mysticism,

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theosophy and Rosicrucianism...

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an ancient society of
mystics and philosophers.

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PAUL HYNEK: He thought there
was something implicit underneath

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and perhaps behind the stars.

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I think that's what
drove him to look there,

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and astronomy was the
method for him to sort of reconcile

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to take a flashlight
to the dim edges

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of mainstream science

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and shine a bit
of light out there

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and find the magic
in the universe.

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NARRATOR: Hynek earned
his PhD in astrophysics

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at the University
of Chicago in 1935,

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and quickly gained fame as
a highly respected scientist.

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He helped develop the
world's first smart weapons

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during World War II,

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worked on technology
for space telescopes,

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and pioneered
satellite tracking.

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JACQUES VALLEE:
He was on the cover

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of Life magazine after Sputnik

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because he had been the man

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to really build the entire

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American tracking
system from scratch

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with special telescopes
that could move very quickly,

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could track an
object in the sky.

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And it was also
the administration

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of a worldwide network
of observing stations.

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Dr. Hynek had managed all that.

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NARRATOR: By his mid-30s,

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J. Allen Hynek had already
made a name for himself

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as an astronomer
and astrophysicist.

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But a series of
extraordinary events

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would dramatically change
the trajectory of his career.

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In June 1947,

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pilot Kenneth Arnold

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reported seeing nine
disc-shaped objects

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flying near Mount
Rainier in Washington.

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Less than a month later,

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there is a report
of a flying saucer

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crashing outside the town
of Roswell, New Mexico.

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And in January 1948,

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Army Captain Thomas Mantell
tragically died in a plane crash

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while chasing a
UFO over Kentucky.

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The U.S. Air Force was
really put on the spot

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to have some kind of public
engagement with this phenomenon.

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People wanted to know about it.

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And they created in 1948,

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something known
as "Project Sign."

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NARRATOR: Project
Sign was the very first

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government
investigation into UFOs.

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To lead the scientific
side of the project,

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they chose Dr. Hynek.

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These three Air
Force officers came by,

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and for about a half
an hour, we just talked

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about the weather
and this and that.

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JOEL HYNEK: My
father liked to say

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that he was like the innocent
bystander that got shot.

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He had no idea
what he was in for,

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but he thought he should help
the Air Force calm the public,

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you know, after the war, so,

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that's why he did it.

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CHILDRESS: Hynek would
explain all these UFO reports

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as meteors, as comets,
as reflections off clouds,

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as stars that were
bright in the sky,

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or the planet Venus.

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Anything that would
explain this activity

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as other than flying
saucers or UFOs.

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NARRATOR: Hynek served
as the scientific advisor

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for Project Sign, which
lasted less than a year.

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It was followed by
another UFO investigation

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called "Project Grudge,"
which was terminated so quickly,

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Hynek never had
a chance to join it.

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But reports of UFOs
only continued to increase,

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prompting the
government to launch

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a much more
substantial initiative

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to study, and ultimately
debunk, UFOs,

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called "Project Blue Book."

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But the longer Dr. Hynek
studied the UFO phenomenon,

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the more convinced he became
that it could not be dismissed.

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NARRATOR: In the
aftermath of World War II,

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the United States
has become engaged

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in a Cold War with
the Soviet Union.

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There has also been
an increase in reports

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of unidentified flying objects,

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and some fear the UFOs
could be Soviet aircraft.

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But with extraterrestrials
becoming a popular theme

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in 1950s science fiction,

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many others are
genuinely concerned

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about an alien invasion.

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After the war, there
were strange sightings

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of things in the sky,

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and people began to
wonder what's up there?

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People were afraid of
aliens in outer space.

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And so, Project Blue Book
was created as a consequence.

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NARRATOR: Project Blue
Book was the Air Force's third

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and most significant
investigation

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into the UFO phenomenon.

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And once again, they
looked to Dr. J. Allen Hynek

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to be the scientific
face of the project.

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MARK O'CONNELL:
The Air Force said,

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"We keep getting these
reports. It's still a problem.

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"In fact, it's a bigger
problem than it was

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"the last time we talked to you.

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Would you be willing to come
back and help us with this?"

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So Hynek agrees.

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KAKU: The military wanted to
squash any of this speculation

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about aliens from outer
space or what have you.

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You see, the government
wanted to control the agenda,

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and flying saucers did
not fit with that agenda.

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We were in a race with Russia.

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It was the McCarthy period.

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Anyone who deviated
from this agenda

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would put their scientific
reputation on the line.

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JOEL: I think being
patriotic is part of why

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he worked for the Air
Force 'cause that was, uh,

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you know, after the war,
and everybody was very

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gung ho and let's help the
government and the country.

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You see, there's
nothing more cocky

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than a relatively young
PhD, just coming out of...

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NARRATOR: But shortly
after joining Project Blue Book,

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Hynek's notion

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that UFOs were nonsense
would be seriously challenged.

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An air traffic controller at
Washington National Airport

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is alarmed when he picks
up seven strange objects

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on his radar screen,
and he quickly determines

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they are unlike any man-made
aircraft he has ever seen.

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PAUL: These objects that
were spherical shaped were

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moving up to
7,000 miles per hour

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in very unconventional fashion.

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We scrambled
fighter jets after them,

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but as soon as the jets got
aloft, the objects disappeared.

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NARRATOR: One week later,
the strange objects appeared

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over the nation's capital again.

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POPE: There was a press
conference at the Pentagon

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which was the biggest
single press conference

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that had been held since the
end of the Second World War.

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Hynek got to see
the various reports.

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The debunking explanation
was that these were mirages

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sometimes caused by
a temperature inversion.

248
00:13:41,917 --> 00:13:45,458
In other words, a layer
of particularly dense air.

249
00:13:45,459 --> 00:13:48,582
NARRATOR: While
Hynek publicly supported

250
00:13:48,583 --> 00:13:50,023
the Air Force's explanation

251
00:13:50,125 --> 00:13:52,375
for the Washington
UFO sightings,

252
00:13:52,542 --> 00:13:54,500
privately he was conflicted

253
00:13:54,667 --> 00:13:56,597
about the
investigation's findings.

254
00:13:56,708 --> 00:13:58,750
The official conclusion

255
00:13:58,958 --> 00:14:01,008
that an optical
illusion was the source

256
00:14:01,208 --> 00:14:05,042
of the alarming events caused
Hynek to begin to question

257
00:14:05,167 --> 00:14:08,042
his colleague,
Dr. Donald H. Menzel,

258
00:14:08,167 --> 00:14:11,208
Director of the
Harvard Observatory.

259
00:14:11,375 --> 00:14:14,000
VALLEE: Dr. Hynek
disagreed with Dr. Menzel.

260
00:14:14,125 --> 00:14:17,125
Dr. Menzel had "explained,"

261
00:14:17,333 --> 00:14:20,125
when people were
seeing those lights,

262
00:14:20,333 --> 00:14:24,000
there was a temperature
inversion over Washington,

263
00:14:24,167 --> 00:14:27,667
and that's why the
radar was reflected.

264
00:14:27,875 --> 00:14:31,583
I looked at that later,
and I met someone

265
00:14:31,750 --> 00:14:34,083
who had been in that radar room.

266
00:14:34,250 --> 00:14:37,333
And he left the
room to see, well,

267
00:14:37,500 --> 00:14:40,583
if he could see
something in the sky.

268
00:14:40,750 --> 00:14:42,625
And he could see the UFOs.

269
00:14:42,792 --> 00:14:45,125
So, this was a visual sighting.

270
00:14:45,292 --> 00:14:47,875
It wasn't just
radar, which meant

271
00:14:48,042 --> 00:14:49,708
that the Menzel explanation

272
00:14:49,875 --> 00:14:51,958
didn't make any
sense scientifically.

273
00:14:52,042 --> 00:14:53,833
It was wrong scientifically.

274
00:14:53,834 --> 00:14:58,041
NARRATOR: Project Blue
Book had just gotten underway,

275
00:14:58,042 --> 00:15:01,083
but already, Hynek
was beginning to think

276
00:15:01,250 --> 00:15:05,542
UFOs could be something more
than just natural phenomena.

277
00:15:33,833 --> 00:15:35,208
NARRATOR: Over the years,

278
00:15:35,375 --> 00:15:38,125
Hynek would become
increasingly conflicted

279
00:15:38,292 --> 00:15:41,667
about his role on
Project Blue Book.

280
00:15:41,792 --> 00:15:45,125
I remember one time driving
up to Canada in the family car,

281
00:15:45,333 --> 00:15:46,958
and I think I was about 15,

282
00:15:46,959 --> 00:15:49,041
and I noticed he's
fidgeting with his hair,

283
00:15:49,042 --> 00:15:50,499
and... and I said,
"Dad, what's going on?"

284
00:15:50,500 --> 00:15:52,500
He said, "Well,
I'm-I'm on the fence."

285
00:15:52,667 --> 00:15:54,292
I mean, he was on the fence.

286
00:15:55,292 --> 00:15:57,333
Having to toe the party line

287
00:15:57,500 --> 00:16:00,875
of the Air Force's that
there's nothing going on here,

288
00:16:01,083 --> 00:16:03,373
that it's all explainable,
took a toll on him.

289
00:16:04,292 --> 00:16:09,125
CHILDRESS: The Air Force
continually insisted that every

290
00:16:09,292 --> 00:16:13,667
UFO incident had
some natural explanation.

291
00:16:13,875 --> 00:16:16,250
And Hynek knew
that that was untrue,

292
00:16:16,375 --> 00:16:20,125
that while many UFO reports
could be explained naturally,

293
00:16:20,292 --> 00:16:22,125
there were some that couldn't,

294
00:16:22,292 --> 00:16:26,417
but the Air Force wouldn't
allow him to go that direction.

295
00:16:26,583 --> 00:16:29,417
GIORGIO A. TSOUKALOS:
The more he did his research,

296
00:16:29,583 --> 00:16:32,000
and the more people
he interviewed,

297
00:16:32,208 --> 00:16:34,250
the more he realized,
"Wait a second.

298
00:16:34,417 --> 00:16:37,125
Not all of these
eyewitnesses are crazy."

299
00:16:37,292 --> 00:16:39,822
In many cases, these
eyewitnesses were not alone

300
00:16:39,875 --> 00:16:42,045
when they experienced
their encounters,

301
00:16:42,167 --> 00:16:44,208
or when they saw something.

302
00:16:44,209 --> 00:16:47,166
IMBROGNO: He began
to realize how long...

303
00:16:47,167 --> 00:16:49,083
and these are his exact words...

304
00:16:49,208 --> 00:16:51,500
"How long am I
gonna call these people

305
00:16:51,667 --> 00:16:53,625
"crazy or incompetent?

306
00:16:53,833 --> 00:16:55,958
"Some of them were
seeing something

307
00:16:56,083 --> 00:16:58,125
"very, very unexplainable,

308
00:16:58,126 --> 00:17:00,166
and it should be
investigated further."

309
00:17:00,167 --> 00:17:02,583
NARRATOR: For
more than a decade,

310
00:17:02,750 --> 00:17:06,667
Dr. Hynek helped the Air
Force carry out its agenda,

311
00:17:06,833 --> 00:17:08,333
assuring the public that UFOs

312
00:17:08,500 --> 00:17:11,375
were nothing to be
concerned about.

313
00:17:11,542 --> 00:17:15,333
But that would begin
to change in 1963,

314
00:17:15,500 --> 00:17:19,333
when Hynek gained a
fierce ally in his pursuit

315
00:17:19,542 --> 00:17:23,833
to make the government take
the study of UFOs more seriously:

316
00:17:24,042 --> 00:17:26,750
Dr. Jacques Vallee.

317
00:17:35,458 --> 00:17:39,083
NARRATOR: J. Allen
Hynek is entering his 11th year

318
00:17:39,208 --> 00:17:42,417
as the scientific advisor
to Project Blue Book,

319
00:17:42,625 --> 00:17:44,667
and is now also the chair

320
00:17:44,833 --> 00:17:47,833
of Northwestern University's
astronomy department.

321
00:17:47,917 --> 00:17:49,750
In the spring,

322
00:17:49,875 --> 00:17:53,583
the 53-year-old professor
meets a young French astronomer

323
00:17:53,708 --> 00:17:57,250
and computer science
student named Jacques Vallee.

324
00:17:58,208 --> 00:18:00,917
One of the most
important meetings

325
00:18:01,042 --> 00:18:04,542
that Hynek had in his
life was when he first

326
00:18:04,708 --> 00:18:06,458
came across Jacques Vallee.

327
00:18:07,500 --> 00:18:10,500
Jacques Vallee was
himself an astronomer,

328
00:18:10,708 --> 00:18:12,500
an astrophysicist really,

329
00:18:12,708 --> 00:18:15,792
and he was also an
early computer pioneer.

330
00:18:16,958 --> 00:18:20,042
NARRATOR: While
working as an astronomer

331
00:18:20,208 --> 00:18:22,042
at the Paris Observatory,

332
00:18:22,167 --> 00:18:24,792
Vallee had conducted
extensive research

333
00:18:24,917 --> 00:18:28,208
about UFO activity
throughout Europe.

334
00:18:28,417 --> 00:18:31,833
Hynek was eager to
see Vallee's research,

335
00:18:31,917 --> 00:18:33,477
but what impressed him the most

336
00:18:33,583 --> 00:18:37,292
was that Vallee had
created a computer database

337
00:18:37,417 --> 00:18:39,667
to analyze all of the data.

338
00:18:40,792 --> 00:18:42,375
VALLEE: What I found

339
00:18:42,542 --> 00:18:45,750
in developing a catalogue
of sightings were a number

340
00:18:45,751 --> 00:18:47,707
of patterns that
were interesting.

341
00:18:47,708 --> 00:18:53,417
And in late '63, I
traveled to Chicago

342
00:18:53,583 --> 00:18:57,708
and met with Dr. Hynek
and started to compare notes

343
00:18:57,875 --> 00:19:01,167
to see if those patterns
in Europe are the same

344
00:19:01,333 --> 00:19:03,667
as were patterns
in the United States.

345
00:19:04,708 --> 00:19:09,083
TSOUKALOS: When Jacques
Vallee came into the picture,

346
00:19:09,208 --> 00:19:12,125
a dynamic duo was formed
that was unstoppable,

347
00:19:12,250 --> 00:19:15,167
because Vallee helped
Hynek computerize everything.

348
00:19:15,375 --> 00:19:19,167
That was the next
level in UFO research.

349
00:19:20,333 --> 00:19:23,167
HENRY: Vallee has a
very scientific orientation

350
00:19:23,292 --> 00:19:24,552
towards the study of this.

351
00:19:24,708 --> 00:19:28,292
Together, they both
have an intuition

352
00:19:28,293 --> 00:19:30,499
that this is an
extraterrestrial phenomena,

353
00:19:30,500 --> 00:19:32,833
and it needs to
be treated as such.

354
00:19:33,875 --> 00:19:37,875
VALLEE: We started to look
at patterns in the behavior

355
00:19:38,042 --> 00:19:40,417
of UFO phenomena,

356
00:19:40,625 --> 00:19:43,375
and we started finding things

357
00:19:43,583 --> 00:19:46,125
that had not been
published before,

358
00:19:46,250 --> 00:19:48,333
had not been understood before.

359
00:19:48,500 --> 00:19:52,667
IMBROGNO: Dr. Hynek
said, "This fellow is brilliant.

360
00:19:52,668 --> 00:19:54,707
"He's respected in
the scientific world,

361
00:19:54,708 --> 00:19:56,208
"and he's coming out

362
00:19:56,417 --> 00:20:00,500
with these ideas that I
would like to explore more."

363
00:20:00,625 --> 00:20:05,292
And I think when Jacques
Vallee said, "This is what I believe,

364
00:20:05,458 --> 00:20:09,542
and I'm not afraid to say
this," Hynek felt relieved.

365
00:20:09,708 --> 00:20:12,375
PAUL: Jacques was
a-a very frequent guest,

366
00:20:12,542 --> 00:20:15,333
along with his wife
and kids, at our house.

367
00:20:15,458 --> 00:20:18,000
He had a great
passion for astronomy.

368
00:20:18,208 --> 00:20:20,167
He saw a fascinating phenomena,

369
00:20:20,375 --> 00:20:22,665
and he wanted to go
where the science led them.

370
00:20:22,708 --> 00:20:25,917
I could see this special
fondness and reverence

371
00:20:26,083 --> 00:20:28,333
my father had for Jacques.

372
00:20:28,334 --> 00:20:32,791
NARRATOR: Working
with Vallee and his database,

373
00:20:32,792 --> 00:20:35,625
Hynek encountered more
and more UFO sightings

374
00:20:35,750 --> 00:20:37,958
that could not be
easily explained.

375
00:20:38,125 --> 00:20:40,583
But perhaps the
most compelling case

376
00:20:40,708 --> 00:20:43,500
he would investigate
not only had a report

377
00:20:43,625 --> 00:20:48,083
of an object in the
sky, but evidence...

378
00:20:48,208 --> 00:20:50,958
on the ground.

379
00:20:55,792 --> 00:20:58,958
Dr. Hynek is summoned
to the small town

380
00:20:59,125 --> 00:21:00,917
of Socorro, New Mexico.

381
00:21:01,083 --> 00:21:03,833
When he arrives, he is told

382
00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:08,292
that local police officer Lonnie
Zamora encountered a UFO

383
00:21:08,458 --> 00:21:11,125
on the outskirts of the city.

384
00:21:12,167 --> 00:21:16,458
RICHARD DOLAN: April 24,
Lonnie Zamora is chasing a speeder

385
00:21:16,583 --> 00:21:20,167
when he sees this thing
zoom across the sky

386
00:21:20,375 --> 00:21:23,458
and go over a hill
and possibly crash.

387
00:21:24,667 --> 00:21:27,167
He stops the chase,
gets out of his car,

388
00:21:27,333 --> 00:21:30,167
goes up on foot to this hill,

389
00:21:30,375 --> 00:21:33,542
and he sees this
perfect, egg-shaped thing

390
00:21:33,708 --> 00:21:35,583
with landing gear
and everything.

391
00:21:35,708 --> 00:21:37,750
ELIZONDO: Lonnie Zamora recalls

392
00:21:37,958 --> 00:21:40,000
seeing what he describes

393
00:21:40,125 --> 00:21:43,500
as a-a... some
sort of vehicle craft

394
00:21:43,708 --> 00:21:45,518
that would appear
to be in distress.

395
00:21:45,583 --> 00:21:48,500
And even perhaps little beings,

396
00:21:48,708 --> 00:21:52,500
what we now refer to as
"NHI, non-human intelligence."

397
00:21:52,625 --> 00:21:54,625
And in his report,
they very quickly

398
00:21:54,792 --> 00:21:57,875
and hurriedly get into
the aircraft and flew away.

399
00:21:58,289 --> 00:22:02,499
NARRATOR: According
to Zamora's report,

400
00:22:02,500 --> 00:22:05,750
the brush was burning
in several places,

401
00:22:05,917 --> 00:22:08,667
and there were four
perpendicular impressions

402
00:22:08,833 --> 00:22:10,625
left on the ground.

403
00:22:11,958 --> 00:22:15,625
PAUL: When Project Blue Book
got word of the Socorro case,

404
00:22:15,792 --> 00:22:19,167
they sent my father
there to explain it away.

405
00:22:19,375 --> 00:22:20,815
But when my father got there,

406
00:22:20,917 --> 00:22:23,000
he found it to be a
very compelling case.

407
00:22:23,167 --> 00:22:27,042
There was Zamora, who
clearly seemed to be traumatized.

408
00:22:27,043 --> 00:22:30,916
HYNEK: I visited
Socorro a number of times,

409
00:22:30,917 --> 00:22:33,567
trying, frankly, to break
down the man's character

410
00:22:33,568 --> 00:22:35,499
to try to find out
whether he's capable

411
00:22:35,500 --> 00:22:36,875
of the hoax... and whether...

412
00:22:37,042 --> 00:22:39,625
what his gravitation
is like, and I've inquired

413
00:22:39,792 --> 00:22:43,250
of, uh, people who have
known him all his life,

414
00:22:43,458 --> 00:22:46,500
and even some parents of
some of my students happen

415
00:22:46,667 --> 00:22:49,583
to live in Socorro, and
I roundabout tried that.

416
00:22:49,708 --> 00:22:51,542
And he, Zamora,
has always held up.

417
00:22:51,708 --> 00:22:57,333
His character has simply held
up as a solid American citizen cop.

418
00:22:57,334 --> 00:22:59,832
ELIZONDO: J.
Allen Hynek realized

419
00:22:59,833 --> 00:23:02,583
that Lonnie Zamora
was not a fabricator,

420
00:23:02,584 --> 00:23:04,832
that what he was
saying was an experience

421
00:23:04,833 --> 00:23:07,003
that he believed he
actually experienced.

422
00:23:07,042 --> 00:23:08,333
(camera shutter clicks)

423
00:23:08,334 --> 00:23:09,916
And that may have
had something to do

424
00:23:09,917 --> 00:23:11,624
with J. Allen Hynek
perhaps starting

425
00:23:11,625 --> 00:23:13,333
to come around the corner

426
00:23:13,500 --> 00:23:15,917
and change his
position on the topic.

427
00:23:16,958 --> 00:23:19,958
PAUL: Jacques told
me that it was this case

428
00:23:20,125 --> 00:23:24,167
that was more or less the
straw that broke the camel's back,

429
00:23:24,375 --> 00:23:26,185
to make my father
feel comfortable

430
00:23:26,375 --> 00:23:28,458
talking about UFO reports

431
00:23:28,625 --> 00:23:30,750
with sightings of aliens.

432
00:23:30,751 --> 00:23:33,832
VALLEE: This was the
first case where he said,

433
00:23:33,833 --> 00:23:37,333
"Yes, these were creatures,"

434
00:23:37,500 --> 00:23:41,333
because there were
traces of footsteps there

435
00:23:41,500 --> 00:23:43,917
that were not human footsteps.

436
00:23:44,083 --> 00:23:47,292
It was a turning point
because there was no question

437
00:23:47,458 --> 00:23:50,333
something had happened,

438
00:23:50,542 --> 00:23:54,417
and he had to take
landings seriously.

439
00:23:55,708 --> 00:23:58,667
NARRATOR: Despite the
evidence collected in New Mexico,

440
00:23:58,833 --> 00:24:02,250
the Air Force insisted that
Hynek toe the company line,

441
00:24:02,375 --> 00:24:05,625
and he dropped
the investigation.

442
00:24:05,792 --> 00:24:08,322
Hynek's frustration
with the military's policy

443
00:24:08,458 --> 00:24:11,500
of denial was at
an all-time high,

444
00:24:11,708 --> 00:24:14,708
and when another
extraordinary UFO event occurred

445
00:24:14,875 --> 00:24:16,583
two years later,

446
00:24:16,708 --> 00:24:20,833
the acclaimed astronomer
would no longer stay quiet.

447
00:24:30,125 --> 00:24:33,833
NARRATOR: J. Allen
Hynek, now in his 14th year

448
00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:36,083
with Project Blue
Book, is at home

449
00:24:36,250 --> 00:24:40,042
when he catches a curious
segment on the evening news.

450
00:24:40,208 --> 00:24:42,042
According to the report,

451
00:24:42,208 --> 00:24:45,042
a farmer in rural Michigan
named Frank Manor

452
00:24:45,208 --> 00:24:49,500
witnessed a UFO
flying above his property.

453
00:24:49,625 --> 00:24:54,583
I looked north of me,
and, uh, there were...

454
00:24:54,708 --> 00:24:57,750
It looked like a
falling star, or...

455
00:24:57,917 --> 00:25:00,208
It was red and kind
of coming down and...

456
00:25:00,375 --> 00:25:03,417
And, uh, when it got to the
top of the trees, it stopped.

457
00:25:03,542 --> 00:25:06,792
And a... a blue and
a white light come on.

458
00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:10,583
And, uh, I looked at it, and I
thought I was seeing things.

459
00:25:11,708 --> 00:25:13,833
NARRATOR: In
addition to Frank Manor,

460
00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:17,167
many other residents
across southern Michigan

461
00:25:17,333 --> 00:25:20,125
saw the UFO, including a member

462
00:25:20,292 --> 00:25:24,667
of law enforcement: Sheriff's
Sergeant Newell Snyder,

463
00:25:24,833 --> 00:25:27,125
who drew a sketch
of the flying craft.

464
00:25:27,292 --> 00:25:31,583
SNYDER: It, uh, moved
very rapidly at any speed,

465
00:25:31,750 --> 00:25:34,333
or rather, any
direction it wanted to go.

466
00:25:34,334 --> 00:25:36,166
REPORTER: What
do you think it was?

467
00:25:36,167 --> 00:25:38,041
SNYDER: Well, if they
call it a flying saucer,

468
00:25:38,042 --> 00:25:39,417
that's what it is.

469
00:25:39,583 --> 00:25:41,792
NARRATOR: Over
the next few nights,

470
00:25:41,917 --> 00:25:45,042
dozens more UFO
sightings were reported.

471
00:25:45,208 --> 00:25:46,833
CHILDRESS: The 1966

472
00:25:47,042 --> 00:25:49,833
UFO flap over Michigan
happened over several days.

473
00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:52,042
And hundreds of witnesses saw

474
00:25:52,208 --> 00:25:55,500
these weird flying
saucer lights in the sky.

475
00:25:55,625 --> 00:25:58,000
It was big news at the time.

476
00:25:58,167 --> 00:26:01,057
O'CONNELL: Dr. Hynek calls
his boss at Project Blue Book,

477
00:26:01,058 --> 00:26:03,707
and he says, "Hey, something
big is going on in Michigan."

478
00:26:03,708 --> 00:26:05,833
And his boss says,
"You go to Michigan,

479
00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:08,958
wipe out the whole thing.
Make it like it never happened."

480
00:26:09,083 --> 00:26:11,167
NARRATOR: Hynek
traveled to Michigan

481
00:26:11,375 --> 00:26:13,167
to investigate the sightings,

482
00:26:13,375 --> 00:26:18,750
and on March 25, he released
his conclusions to the press.

483
00:26:18,917 --> 00:26:21,292
He claimed that
the most likely cause

484
00:26:21,417 --> 00:26:23,292
of the lights seen by witnesses

485
00:26:23,458 --> 00:26:26,375
was not
extraterrestrial activity,

486
00:26:26,500 --> 00:26:28,583
but marsh gas.

487
00:26:28,750 --> 00:26:32,333
I cannot prove in a court of law

488
00:26:32,334 --> 00:26:35,207
that marsh gas is the full
explanation of these sightings,

489
00:26:35,208 --> 00:26:40,708
but it does appear
to me extremely likely.

490
00:26:40,875 --> 00:26:42,685
REPORTER: Are
you saying, Doctor,

491
00:26:42,686 --> 00:26:44,541
that Michigan is now
producing non-existent saucers?

492
00:26:44,542 --> 00:26:46,875
(laughs) Well, it's, uh,

493
00:26:47,042 --> 00:26:49,208
one way of putting
it, I suppose.

494
00:26:50,250 --> 00:26:54,333
NARRATOR: Hynek's conclusion
sparked outrage nationwide.

495
00:26:54,458 --> 00:26:58,917
He was ridiculed by pundits,
op-ed columnists and cartoonists

496
00:26:59,083 --> 00:27:02,667
who viewed him as the
ultimate government pawn.

497
00:27:02,833 --> 00:27:06,250
DOLAN: It's an absolute
embarrassing debacle for him.

498
00:27:06,375 --> 00:27:07,833
No one believed this.

499
00:27:08,042 --> 00:27:10,000
So, this became
the national joke.

500
00:27:11,708 --> 00:27:15,625
JOEL: Michigan... that
was a tough moment for him.

501
00:27:15,750 --> 00:27:19,292
He really didn't know
what to make of it, uh,

502
00:27:19,458 --> 00:27:23,125
but he was under a lot of
pressure to say something, and

503
00:27:23,250 --> 00:27:24,300
he went with that.

504
00:27:25,208 --> 00:27:27,917
ROXANE: I remember
the swamp gas incident.

505
00:27:28,042 --> 00:27:30,417
I remember actually
seeing him on TV.

506
00:27:31,375 --> 00:27:35,458
And I-I could just see
in his face that it was just

507
00:27:35,625 --> 00:27:37,875
not something he wanted to do.

508
00:27:38,917 --> 00:27:42,000
NARRATOR: After his
disastrous press conference,

509
00:27:42,208 --> 00:27:44,500
Hynek was summoned
to Washington, D.C.

510
00:27:44,667 --> 00:27:46,708
to testify before Congress.

511
00:27:46,875 --> 00:27:49,042
And for the first time,

512
00:27:49,208 --> 00:27:52,000
he defied his superiors
on Project Blue Book

513
00:27:52,208 --> 00:27:56,708
and revealed his true thoughts
on the UFO phenomenon.

514
00:27:56,709 --> 00:27:58,541
CHILDRESS: Hynek gets
in front of this committee

515
00:27:58,542 --> 00:27:59,750
and says to them,

516
00:27:59,917 --> 00:28:02,000
"UFOs are a worthy study,

517
00:28:02,125 --> 00:28:05,000
and it needs
scientific investigation."

518
00:28:05,001 --> 00:28:07,582
TAYLOR: He's had
enough, and he says,

519
00:28:07,583 --> 00:28:09,875
"No, there's a
scientific problem

520
00:28:10,042 --> 00:28:11,417
"with UFOs.

521
00:28:11,625 --> 00:28:13,333
We need to take it serious."

522
00:28:13,542 --> 00:28:15,167
IMBROGNO: Hynek said

523
00:28:15,375 --> 00:28:18,833
that when he made
his official statement

524
00:28:18,958 --> 00:28:22,792
about how he felt about
UFOs, he got into serious trouble

525
00:28:22,958 --> 00:28:24,708
with the Air Force.

526
00:28:24,875 --> 00:28:27,667
I don't think they did
much of anything to him,

527
00:28:27,792 --> 00:28:29,583
but they cut him off

528
00:28:29,750 --> 00:28:31,375
from support is what they did.

529
00:28:31,500 --> 00:28:35,625
NARRATOR: After Hynek's
controversial testimony,

530
00:28:35,792 --> 00:28:37,833
the Air Force opened
an investigation

531
00:28:38,042 --> 00:28:39,182
into Project Blue Book

532
00:28:39,292 --> 00:28:42,333
chaired by physicist
Edward Condon,

533
00:28:42,542 --> 00:28:44,167
called "the Condon Committee."

534
00:28:44,333 --> 00:28:46,958
By the end of 1969,

535
00:28:47,125 --> 00:28:50,333
the Condon Committee
terminated Project Blue Book,

536
00:28:50,542 --> 00:28:57,208
and J. Allen Hynek was finally
free to speak openly about UFOs.

537
00:28:57,417 --> 00:29:01,000
In my association with
Project Blue Book, I know,

538
00:29:01,167 --> 00:29:04,083
and I know very well that it
was not a scientific project.

539
00:29:04,292 --> 00:29:07,667
I also know that they never,
never would notify the media

540
00:29:07,833 --> 00:29:09,523
when an interesting
case came up.

541
00:29:09,667 --> 00:29:12,333
They did everything
they could to...

542
00:29:12,334 --> 00:29:14,082
- REPORTER: Keep it down.
- Push it, keep it down.

543
00:29:14,083 --> 00:29:15,624
TSOUKALOS: J. Allen Hynek became

544
00:29:15,625 --> 00:29:17,625
a well-known
figure on television,

545
00:29:17,792 --> 00:29:20,625
on radio, talking about
aerial phenomena.

546
00:29:20,792 --> 00:29:25,667
And in doing so, he
became, well, Mr. UFO,

547
00:29:25,875 --> 00:29:28,458
I guess the first
one there ever was.

548
00:29:28,667 --> 00:29:34,042
And he really took this whole
research topic to another level.

549
00:29:34,208 --> 00:29:37,167
ROXANE: My parents were
a bit concerned about his

550
00:29:37,292 --> 00:29:40,500
mainstream reputation
being damaged.

551
00:29:41,667 --> 00:29:44,250
It was so different
than it is now as far as

552
00:29:44,417 --> 00:29:49,000
if somebody talked about UFOs,
they could lose their careers,

553
00:29:49,208 --> 00:29:51,958
their kids could be
hounded at school.

554
00:29:52,167 --> 00:29:56,000
So, there was a real
stigma back then.

555
00:29:56,167 --> 00:29:58,500
But I don't think it
slowed my father down.

556
00:29:58,667 --> 00:30:00,375
It was a brave thing to do.

557
00:30:01,458 --> 00:30:04,167
NARRATOR: After
spending more than 20 years

558
00:30:04,292 --> 00:30:07,083
helping the U.S. government
convince the public

559
00:30:07,208 --> 00:30:09,875
that there is nothing
mysterious in our skies,

560
00:30:10,042 --> 00:30:15,833
Hynek was now leading the charge
to legitimize the study of UFOs.

561
00:30:15,958 --> 00:30:18,875
And he would soon
reach a larger audience

562
00:30:19,042 --> 00:30:21,458
than ever before
with the help...

563
00:30:21,625 --> 00:30:23,958
of Steven Spielberg.

564
00:30:32,667 --> 00:30:37,542
NARRATOR: After investigating
UFOs for more than 24 years,

565
00:30:37,667 --> 00:30:40,750
J. Allen Hynek
publishes his first book

566
00:30:40,917 --> 00:30:44,417
on the phenomenon...
The UFO Experience.

567
00:30:44,542 --> 00:30:48,000
HENRY: It's an instant
bestseller, mega bestseller.

568
00:30:48,167 --> 00:30:50,037
One of the key
elements in the book is

569
00:30:50,038 --> 00:30:51,957
the "close encounter"
classification.

570
00:30:51,958 --> 00:30:53,958
This becomes a framework

571
00:30:54,083 --> 00:30:57,500
for people to categorize
their UFO experience.

572
00:30:57,501 --> 00:30:59,707
Is it a close encounter
of the first kind?

573
00:30:59,708 --> 00:31:01,667
In other words, did
you see something

574
00:31:01,792 --> 00:31:04,667
less than 500 feet away?

575
00:31:04,668 --> 00:31:06,374
Close encounter
of the second kind...

576
00:31:06,375 --> 00:31:08,667
was there a physical
effect that was felt?

577
00:31:08,792 --> 00:31:10,042
Was there a burn mark?

578
00:31:10,043 --> 00:31:11,791
Is there physical evidence left

579
00:31:11,792 --> 00:31:14,500
by perhaps a
landing of the craft?

580
00:31:14,625 --> 00:31:17,035
And then the close
encounter of the third kind,

581
00:31:17,083 --> 00:31:20,875
which is the sighting
of an animated figure,

582
00:31:21,042 --> 00:31:23,875
be it a humanoid
being or perhaps a robot

583
00:31:24,042 --> 00:31:26,875
within or near that craft.

584
00:31:29,375 --> 00:31:30,792
NARRATOR: Today,

585
00:31:30,958 --> 00:31:33,368
more than five decades
after he introduced it,

586
00:31:33,375 --> 00:31:36,375
Hynek's close encounters
classification system

587
00:31:36,542 --> 00:31:40,542
remains the standard by
which UFO reports are defined.

588
00:31:40,708 --> 00:31:44,042
But even more influential
was the research facility

589
00:31:44,208 --> 00:31:46,625
he launched in
Evanston, Illinois

590
00:31:46,750 --> 00:31:48,667
just one year after
the publication

591
00:31:48,875 --> 00:31:53,417
of his first book, called "The
Center for UFO Studies."

592
00:31:54,958 --> 00:31:57,917
TSOUKALOS: It essentially
became a global hub

593
00:31:58,042 --> 00:32:01,917
for anyone to go and
report their UFO sightings.

594
00:32:02,125 --> 00:32:04,000
But he couldn't
do it by himself,

595
00:32:04,125 --> 00:32:06,500
so he raised a whole
bunch of money,

596
00:32:06,708 --> 00:32:09,333
and all of a sudden, had staff.

597
00:32:09,500 --> 00:32:11,708
He was able to do
a lot more research

598
00:32:11,917 --> 00:32:14,333
than he had ever
been able to do before.

599
00:32:15,375 --> 00:32:18,000
JOEL: My father
felt it was important

600
00:32:18,083 --> 00:32:21,042
to set up a 1-800 number,

601
00:32:21,167 --> 00:32:23,667
and he was very free
giving his phone number,

602
00:32:23,875 --> 00:32:25,500
the-the home phone number.

603
00:32:25,625 --> 00:32:27,875
- (phone ringing)
- And so in those days,

604
00:32:28,042 --> 00:32:30,958
the phone was always
ringing off the hook.

605
00:32:31,083 --> 00:32:33,613
But he was always happy
to, you know, take the call.

606
00:32:34,708 --> 00:32:36,268
What motivated him was the idea

607
00:32:36,375 --> 00:32:41,000
that UFOs could open up a
whole new domain of physics,

608
00:32:41,208 --> 00:32:45,042
that it could increase our
understanding of reality.

609
00:32:45,208 --> 00:32:47,625
That really propelled him.

610
00:32:49,333 --> 00:32:52,500
PAUL: My father traveled
more than anybody I've ever met.

611
00:32:52,625 --> 00:32:54,208
And so, my mom was left

612
00:32:54,375 --> 00:32:56,708
to take care of the
kids to a great deal.

613
00:32:56,917 --> 00:33:00,667
She was fiercely
independent, very strong.

614
00:33:00,833 --> 00:33:03,667
And at first, I think, she
must have been hesitant

615
00:33:03,875 --> 00:33:05,792
to have my father
go off on these

616
00:33:05,958 --> 00:33:08,458
wild-goose chases
for flying saucers,

617
00:33:08,625 --> 00:33:11,333
but after a while, she
caught the bug, too,

618
00:33:11,542 --> 00:33:15,333
and became an active participant
in the Center for UFO Studies.

619
00:33:15,500 --> 00:33:19,125
And I think she really
helped comfort a lot of people,

620
00:33:19,333 --> 00:33:21,923
gently coaxing them
into talking a little bit more

621
00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:24,250
about what could be
a very traumatic topic.

622
00:33:25,292 --> 00:33:28,122
ROXANE: It seemed a really
exciting time for my father,

623
00:33:28,250 --> 00:33:30,250
a blossoming time.

624
00:33:30,417 --> 00:33:34,083
I remember coming home, and
our house had been transformed.

625
00:33:34,250 --> 00:33:37,583
My bedroom was no longer
my bedroom, and the same

626
00:33:37,792 --> 00:33:40,125
with most of the others,
so it was this hubbub.

627
00:33:40,250 --> 00:33:43,708
And files and papers and phones,

628
00:33:43,875 --> 00:33:46,042
and it was just... it
was an exciting time,

629
00:33:46,208 --> 00:33:49,000
and I think he really
enjoyed that a lot.

630
00:33:50,500 --> 00:33:54,042
NARRATOR: Ufologist Phil
Imbrogno worked with Dr. Hynek

631
00:33:54,208 --> 00:33:57,750
in the early 1980s
investigating UFO sightings

632
00:33:57,875 --> 00:33:59,875
in New York's Hudson Valley.

633
00:34:00,042 --> 00:34:02,958
According to him,
Hynek's passion

634
00:34:03,125 --> 00:34:06,542
for investigating the
phenomenon was unmatched.

635
00:34:07,625 --> 00:34:11,958
IMBROGNO: If he thought that
the sightings were worth value

636
00:34:12,125 --> 00:34:15,167
to give UFOs more
credibility and more attention

637
00:34:15,292 --> 00:34:17,833
in the scientific
world, he was there.

638
00:34:18,042 --> 00:34:22,292
And his energy was
unbelievable in the field.

639
00:34:22,417 --> 00:34:24,167
I was only

640
00:34:24,292 --> 00:34:27,042
30-something years old
there, and he was in his 70s,

641
00:34:27,208 --> 00:34:28,958
and I was exhausted
before he was.

642
00:34:29,083 --> 00:34:30,667
And he just kept on going.

643
00:34:30,833 --> 00:34:34,125
And when interviewing witnesses,

644
00:34:34,292 --> 00:34:36,333
he made them feel so comfortable

645
00:34:36,542 --> 00:34:38,750
that they just opened up to him.

646
00:34:38,875 --> 00:34:40,500
NARRATOR: Three years

647
00:34:40,667 --> 00:34:43,833
after launching The
Center for UFO Studies,

648
00:34:44,042 --> 00:34:45,852
J. Allen Hynek
received a phone call

649
00:34:45,875 --> 00:34:50,250
from Hollywood's hottest
new director: Steven Spielberg.

650
00:34:50,417 --> 00:34:54,042
Spielberg wanted the
distinguished Dr. Hynek

651
00:34:54,208 --> 00:34:56,542
to consult on his new film,

652
00:34:56,708 --> 00:35:00,833
called Close Encounters
of the Third Kind.

653
00:35:01,042 --> 00:35:02,792
JOEL: Our father was all for it,

654
00:35:02,958 --> 00:35:04,278
being a technical advisor

655
00:35:04,417 --> 00:35:06,833
on Close Encounters
of the Third Kind.

656
00:35:06,958 --> 00:35:09,000
And people were
taking it seriously,

657
00:35:09,167 --> 00:35:12,042
and that's what
he loved about it.

658
00:35:12,208 --> 00:35:14,500
POPE: Hynek even
has a cameo role.

659
00:35:14,708 --> 00:35:17,000
Right at the end of
it, the climactic scene

660
00:35:17,208 --> 00:35:20,167
where the mothership
comes down, you can see

661
00:35:20,375 --> 00:35:25,917
there's one guy with a goatee
and a pipe, and that's Hynek.

662
00:35:26,042 --> 00:35:28,333
ROXANE: I still, when I see it,

663
00:35:28,500 --> 00:35:31,167
I always get a... just
sort of a... (gasps)

664
00:35:31,375 --> 00:35:34,000
when he comes
on for his-his cameo.

665
00:35:35,042 --> 00:35:37,958
NARRATOR: Close Encounters
of the Third Kind premiered

666
00:35:38,125 --> 00:35:41,208
on November 15, 1977,

667
00:35:41,375 --> 00:35:44,167
and went on to become
a box office smash

668
00:35:44,375 --> 00:35:46,333
and a critical success.

669
00:35:46,500 --> 00:35:50,333
But perhaps most
important to Hynek

670
00:35:50,542 --> 00:35:54,667
was the fact that the movie
established the UFO phenomenon

671
00:35:54,833 --> 00:35:56,625
in the mainstream.

672
00:35:56,626 --> 00:35:59,249
PAUL: The movie Close
Encounters of the Third Kind

673
00:35:59,250 --> 00:36:02,292
was truly a watershed
moment in the phenomena.

674
00:36:02,458 --> 00:36:05,208
The movie did so much service

675
00:36:05,375 --> 00:36:08,333
for people who felt
they'd had sightings,

676
00:36:08,542 --> 00:36:11,375
in legitimizing them
to come forward.

677
00:36:11,542 --> 00:36:14,333
The movie raised
public awareness

678
00:36:14,500 --> 00:36:16,370
of the UFO phenomenon
to new heights.

679
00:36:16,375 --> 00:36:19,500
One of the offshoots of the
popularity of this movie was

680
00:36:19,667 --> 00:36:22,750
Hynek was able to
persuade Spielberg to print

681
00:36:22,875 --> 00:36:26,042
the contact information for
his Center for UFO Studies

682
00:36:26,208 --> 00:36:28,375
on every single movie poster

683
00:36:28,376 --> 00:36:30,499
for Close Encounters
of the Third Kind.

684
00:36:30,500 --> 00:36:31,940
Bottom corner of the poster,

685
00:36:31,941 --> 00:36:33,582
there's gonna
be a little notation,

686
00:36:33,583 --> 00:36:37,667
"If you've seen anything
unusual, contact CUFOS."

687
00:36:37,668 --> 00:36:40,999
NARRATOR: Shortly
after the release of the film,

688
00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:42,875
Hynek retired from teaching,

689
00:36:43,042 --> 00:36:46,792
and eventually relocated
The Center for UFO Studies

690
00:36:46,958 --> 00:36:48,292
to Phoenix, Arizona.

691
00:36:48,458 --> 00:36:51,583
In his final years, he continued

692
00:36:51,708 --> 00:36:54,917
to travel the world
investigating UFOs,

693
00:36:55,125 --> 00:36:58,250
and proposed profound
new possibilities

694
00:36:58,375 --> 00:37:01,208
for what might be
behind the phenomenon.

695
00:37:09,125 --> 00:37:11,125
NARRATOR: In 1981,

696
00:37:11,208 --> 00:37:13,558
the residents of this
small mountain village

697
00:37:13,708 --> 00:37:16,125
began reporting strange lights

698
00:37:16,292 --> 00:37:19,917
of various colors,
sizes and shapes.

699
00:37:22,375 --> 00:37:24,333
Intrigued by the phenomenon,

700
00:37:24,500 --> 00:37:27,583
Norwegian electrical
engineer Erling Strand

701
00:37:27,708 --> 00:37:30,333
started a research
project to investigate it.

702
00:37:30,542 --> 00:37:33,542
And on a whim, he reached out

703
00:37:33,543 --> 00:37:35,457
to the world's
foremost authority

704
00:37:35,458 --> 00:37:39,500
on the UFO phenomenon:
Dr. J. Allen Hynek.

705
00:37:39,708 --> 00:37:43,917
To his surprise, Hynek
was not only receptive,

706
00:37:44,083 --> 00:37:48,000
but in 1985, at 74 years old,

707
00:37:48,167 --> 00:37:49,427
he traveled to Hessdalen

708
00:37:49,542 --> 00:37:52,250
to witness the
phenomenon for himself.

709
00:37:53,875 --> 00:37:55,833
STRAND: Everyone

710
00:37:56,042 --> 00:38:00,000
in Scandinavia knew who he was.

711
00:38:01,042 --> 00:38:06,125
When he came to visit us
out in the field in Norway,

712
00:38:06,333 --> 00:38:09,083
that inspired us very much.

713
00:38:09,292 --> 00:38:10,708
Such a great man.

714
00:38:10,875 --> 00:38:13,667
Now the fact that they
actually saw those lights

715
00:38:13,833 --> 00:38:16,708
against the mountain, I
think is very important.

716
00:38:16,709 --> 00:38:20,582
NARRATOR: Most of the video
from Hynek's visit has been lost,

717
00:38:20,583 --> 00:38:23,458
but the fragments
that have survived

718
00:38:23,583 --> 00:38:26,083
represent the last
footage ever shot

719
00:38:26,250 --> 00:38:29,792
of the pioneering
scientist and ufologist.

720
00:38:29,958 --> 00:38:33,667
In it, he reveals that
in his final assessment

721
00:38:33,875 --> 00:38:35,292
of the UFO phenomenon,

722
00:38:35,417 --> 00:38:38,708
an extraterrestrial
intelligence is just one

723
00:38:38,875 --> 00:38:41,292
of numerous
profound possibilities.

724
00:39:08,042 --> 00:39:12,917
ROXANE: One of the
things I really love, loved,

725
00:39:13,083 --> 00:39:14,875
love about my dad is that

726
00:39:15,042 --> 00:39:19,458
he was open to entertaining
things that weren't just

727
00:39:19,625 --> 00:39:21,000
a fixed solution.

728
00:39:21,208 --> 00:39:23,083
He didn't have to wrap things up

729
00:39:23,084 --> 00:39:24,749
so that you couldn't
continue exploring.

730
00:39:24,750 --> 00:39:28,500
I-I... love that
aspect of my dad.

731
00:39:29,500 --> 00:39:32,417
NARRATOR: Dr. J.
Allen Hynek passed away

732
00:39:32,583 --> 00:39:35,875
from a malignant
brain tumor in 1986,

733
00:39:36,042 --> 00:39:39,667
as Halley's Comet was
passing by the planet.

734
00:39:39,833 --> 00:39:42,667
It was the first time the
comet had been visible

735
00:39:42,792 --> 00:39:47,458
from Earth since 1910,
the year Hynek was born.

736
00:39:48,625 --> 00:39:50,583
He came and went
with Halley's Comet,

737
00:39:50,750 --> 00:39:53,500
which is a really nice
kind of comforting,

738
00:39:53,708 --> 00:39:57,125
cosmological bookend
for a grieving son.

739
00:39:57,208 --> 00:40:00,458
JOEL: I'm very
proud of my father.

740
00:40:00,667 --> 00:40:03,542
He was a serious
scientist looking into UFOs.

741
00:40:03,708 --> 00:40:06,917
And it was not cool for a
scientist to be doing that

742
00:40:07,042 --> 00:40:09,125
on this silly subject.

743
00:40:09,292 --> 00:40:11,333
So, he battled that a lot,

744
00:40:11,542 --> 00:40:17,125
and I think he will be
appreciated by UFO advocates

745
00:40:17,333 --> 00:40:19,542
and serious scientists.

746
00:40:20,875 --> 00:40:25,958
PAUL: My father's legacy is that
he was a very believable figure.

747
00:40:26,167 --> 00:40:28,667
He was the archetypal professor.

748
00:40:28,833 --> 00:40:31,917
And if this guy says there's
something happening here,

749
00:40:32,083 --> 00:40:34,667
maybe it's okay if
I believe that, too.

750
00:40:34,668 --> 00:40:37,207
So I think he was able to
put the world on his back

751
00:40:37,208 --> 00:40:41,167
and bring us just a little bit
closer to accepting the idea

752
00:40:41,375 --> 00:40:43,583
that we are not alone.

753
00:40:43,750 --> 00:40:46,042
VALLEE: Dr. Hynek used to say

754
00:40:46,208 --> 00:40:50,083
that what's important in
science is the exception.

755
00:40:50,250 --> 00:40:51,792
So much of science

756
00:40:51,875 --> 00:40:56,625
and scientific discovery
is based on an exception

757
00:40:56,708 --> 00:40:59,292
for the things
that breaks a rule.

758
00:40:59,458 --> 00:41:03,333
And I think that's why
UFOs are important.

759
00:41:03,500 --> 00:41:05,750
Because they break the rule.

760
00:41:05,751 --> 00:41:08,541
ELIZONDO: It's
because of J. Allen Hynek

761
00:41:08,542 --> 00:41:11,542
I think we are where
we are today in this topic.

762
00:41:11,708 --> 00:41:14,583
J. Allen Hynek was the
right person at the right time.

763
00:41:15,708 --> 00:41:19,208
NARRATOR: From a young
boy fascinated with astronomy,

764
00:41:19,333 --> 00:41:21,625
to a government UFO debunker,

765
00:41:21,792 --> 00:41:25,083
to a founding father of ufology,

766
00:41:25,208 --> 00:41:27,875
J. Allen Hynek lived his life

767
00:41:28,042 --> 00:41:30,583
with one foot planted
in hard science

768
00:41:30,750 --> 00:41:33,708
and the other in the unknown.

769
00:41:33,875 --> 00:41:37,125
And in the end,
his investigations,

770
00:41:37,333 --> 00:41:41,667
both in the academic
world and the world of UFOs,

771
00:41:41,750 --> 00:41:44,958
led him to conclude that
whether it's extraterrestrial,

772
00:41:45,167 --> 00:41:47,292
interdimensional,

773
00:41:47,458 --> 00:41:50,000
or something
we have yet to imagine,

774
00:41:50,167 --> 00:41:54,333
there is likely a non-human
intelligence on planet Earth.

775
00:41:54,542 --> 00:41:57,292
Perhaps someday
in the very near future,

776
00:41:57,417 --> 00:42:00,625
we will discover
that Hynek was right

777
00:42:00,833 --> 00:42:05,875
and come face-to-face
with our alien ancestors.

778
00:42:05,876 --> 00:42:08,132
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779
00:42:08,133 --> 00:42:12,683
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