1960

• 1960.0000 Bracewell probe article

   

  

  Bracewell probe article
  During 1960, the journal Nature published an article by Ronald Bracewell which discusses the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligences using interstellar probes

   

   

   

• 1960.0000 Bussard's ramjet
  

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  During 1960, engineer Robert W Bussard proposes the interstellar ramjet.

   

   

   

• 1960.0000 Movie “Village of the Damned”

   

  

  “Village of the Damned”
  The Movie (1960) “Village of the Damned” was based on a novel, “The Midwich Cuckoos”, by John Wyndham.

   

   

   

• 1960.0000 Purcell's "cereal box"
  

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  During 1960, Edward Purcell of Harvard gave a lecture at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in which he concluded that “all this stuff about travelling round the Universe in space suits, except for local exploration …, belongs back where it came from, on the cereal box”.

   

   

   

• 1960.0129 DoD on UFO waves

   

  

  DoD on UFO waves
  On 29 January 1960, the US Department of Defense issued a news release stating that it appeared that “some specific incident is usually responsible for touching off a rash of reported sightings and this is particularly true of the two high report years of 1952 and 1957”

   

   

   

• 1960.0202 Air Force Regulation 200-2 amended

   

  

  Air Force Regulation 200-2 amended
  On 2 February 1960, Air Force Regulation 200-2 (“AFR 200-2”) was further amended.

   

   

   

• 1960.0408 Project Ozma

   

  

  Project Ozma
  On 8 April 1960, astronomer Frank Drake’s “Project Ozma” begins listening at the National Radio Astronomy Oberservatory (“NRAO”) in West Virginia.

   

   

   

• 1960.0600 Carl Sagan's thesis
  

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  During June 1960, Carl Sagan was awarded a Ph D in astronomy and astrophysics by the University of Chicago for his thesis “Physical Studies of Planets”.

   

   

   

• 1960.0600 NICAP on EM effects
  

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  During June 1960, NICAP publishes a booklet on incidents in which electrical circuits were allegedly disrupted in the presence of UFOs.

   

   

   

• 1960.0603 Dyson sphere

   

  

  Dyson sphere
  On 3 June 1960, Freeman Dyson publishesan article discusing the “Dyson sphere”

   

   

   

• 1960.0621 NICAP report to Congress
  

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  On 21 June 1960, NICAP submits a “confidential report to Congress” entitled “Dangers of Secrecy on UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) and Digest of Documented Evidence”.

   

   

   

• 1960.0721 DoD on suppression allegations

   

  

  DoD on suppression allegations
  On 21 July 1960, the US Department of Defense issued a news release entitled “ATIC UFO Investigation Capability” which comments on allegations of suppression of information and the cost of the Air Force’s UFO program (Department of Defence News Release Number 812-60).

   

   

   

• 1960.0800 NASA’s Committee 14

   

  

  NASA’s Committee 14
  During August 1960, NASA’s “Committee 14 on Exobiology” was formed.

   

   

   

• 1960.0813 Red Bluff sighting
  

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  The Red Bluff, California UFO sighting involved an attempted chase by Patrolmen Charles A Carson and Stanley Scott during the night of 13th / 14th August 1960.

  This incident is Case 93 in Isaac Koi's "Top 100" article,  since it was referred to in 30 of the books covered by that article.

  This was Project Blue Book Case Number 6909.

  This incident featured in the results of a survey in 1965 by Jacques Vallee of the opinion of various UFO groups as to the most significant UFO sightings. As part of the same survey, NICAP included this case in a list of 5 cases which it nominated as being the best.

   

• 1960.1214 Brookings Institute report

   

  

  Brookings Institute report
  On 14 December 1960, the Brookings Research Institute in Washington releases a report prepared during 1960 for NASA entitled “Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs”, including a section entitled “Implications of a Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life”. (Commonly referred to as “the Brookings Institute report”.)

   

   

   

• 1960.1220 Tacker radio appearance
  

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  On 20 December 1960, Colonel Lawrence J Tacker appears on the radio programme “Washington Viewpoint” and is interviewed by Ann Corrick and Syd Davis.