PLATE VIII
a. Images produced by lens defects, Hamilton, Ohio, steel plant. ([CHAP. XI])
PLATE VIII
b. Ghost images produced by internal reflections in lens system. ([CHAP. XII])
The Brazilian Naval Ministry
The photographs were published on February 21, five weeks after they were taken. Since the President had apparently accepted them at face value, the Naval Ministry was obviously in a difficult position; through an unofficial spokesman it issued a statement notable for its lack of enthusiasm:
“On the morning of January 16, 1958, over the island of Trindade, the crew of the school ship Almirante Saldanha sighted an unidentified aerial object for a few seconds. A civilian who was aboard the ship took some pictures of the object. The Navy has no connection with the case, and its only connection with the occurrence was the fact that the photographer was aboard the school ship, and came back with the ship to Rio.”[X-20]
On the same day another Navy spokesman released a similar unofficial statement to O Globo:
“The news about a flying saucer sighted over the Island of Trindade was received here with utmost reserve. There will be an investigation to verify the authenticity of the sightings and photos. No officer or sailor from the N.E. Almirante Saldanha witnessed the event.”[[X-20]]