User:Feoffer/sandbox Passiac UFO photographs

The Passiac UFO photographs are a set of photographs purportedly taken in Passaic, New Jersey on July 31, 1952. Allegedly depicting a domed flying saucer, the images were widedly published in contemporary media.

Precursors
The modern UFO era began with the Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting, igniting the 1947 flying disc craze. By 1952, several supposed UFO photographs had been been published, including the Rhodes UFO photographs, the McMinnville UFO photographs, and the Mariana UFO film.

The July 1947 Twin Falls saucer hoax featured a domed saucer about 3 feet in diameter made of two cymbals and a plexiglass dome. In 1951, the film The Day The Earth Stood Still premiered, featuring a domed saucer which lands in Washington D.C.

Passiac photographs
On August 1, during the 1952 UFO flap, local press reported on the photos,  attributing them to John H. Riley, then aged 28, who was a self-described professional photographer and performed photo processing in Passaic. Riley reported that he and friend George J. Stock had witnessed the object the prior morning, July 31, while at Stock's home.

Riley recalled that the object was heading southeast as a "leisurely pace" before coming to a halt and hovering overhead. Riley claimed "It was so near, it could have been hit with a rifle". He described the object as 30 feet wide and estimated it was hovering at 200 feet. He described the object as silent. Riley claimed the object tilted as it began moving towards the southwest, ultimately travelling out of sight.

Initial press accounts noted the novel presence of a "dome"-like shape atop the depicted disc, writing "The pictures may not exactly fit the descriptions of flying saucers you've heard about".

It later emerged however that the photographs had actually been taken by Stock, not Riley.

Air Force investigation
Wright Field was contacted by Mr Dixon, Night City Editor of the Newark Star Ledger. The Air Force Office of Special Investigation conducted interviews with acquaintances of Riley and Stock. During that investigation, Air Force Special Agent George H. Wertz created a sketch of the object allegedly photographed by Stock.

Legacy and successors
In December 1952, photographs of an alleged domed flying saucer with "portholes" were published by George Adamski.