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153 and Astronomy Department, wrote a book in 1953—Flying Saucers—in which he sneered at the idea that even a single UFO sighting might amount to more than pathetic incompe- tence on the part of some grossly unqualified or overly emo- tional layman. He "knew" that no true scientist would think he had seen a genuine flying saucer; after all, he had been able to explain those he had seen. Despite the fact that the late Dr. Menzel used some amazing distortions of science to make his point (such as that alternat- ing layers of hot and cold air can act like "air lenses" and bend light rays so much that lights on the ground will appear to be overhead), not one noted scientist was willing to challenge him until Dr. James McDonald, University of Arizona atmospheric physicist, spoke up in the 1960s and was roundly ridiculed. The fear of being grouped with "amateur UFO experts" in opposition to the vast majority of scientists, was too great to be overcome by any need to be objective. For decades, every well-publicized UFO report was met by at least one scientist willing to go on record explaining the event as nothing more substantive than a mirage, or a swarm of electrified insects, or energy released by a minor earth tremor. It didn't seem to matter that the explanation failed to fit what was described by the observer, or that the explanation might involve previously unknown and unverified scientific princi- ples or phenomena. All that counted was that a genuine scien- tist had easily explained what a rank amateur had thought was unexplainable. The press, not to be outdone by the scientific community, stressed explanation over data. So what if a solid, respectable citizen claimed to have been terrified by some hovering, disc- shaped craft that shone a bright light into his car and lit its interior? If some scientist (whose background may have been far removed from meteoritics) said it must have been a meteor, then it must have been a meteor. Overlooked in the rush to find an answer was the fact that a meteor cannot hover, nor can it shine a beam of light anywhere. The government didn't have to go out of its way to pressure KEEPING THE SECRET