Harvard Destroyed Data After 1952 UFO Incident - Here's What They Found

Cristina Gomez
Aug 7
3 min read

A groundbreaking astronomical discovery has emerged that could fundamentally challenge our understanding of what occupied Earth's orbit during the early Space Age. Scientists have uncovered evidence of hundreds of thousands of technological objects orbiting Earth in the 1950s - a full seven years before humanity launched its first satellite, Sputnik, in 1957 and this astronomer has no fear in studying UFOs.

The research, led by Dr. Beatriz Villarroel from the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics in Stockholm, centers on her work with the VASCO project (Vanishing and Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations). As referenced in her NewsNation interview, Dr. Villarroel collaborated with Stephen Bruehl at Vanderbilt University to analyze 100,000 transient objects from pre-Sputnik astronomical photographs. According to Dr. Villarroel, their analysis revealed surprising correlations between these mysterious transients, nuclear bomb tests, and UFO sightings from the era.

The key breakthrough involved analyzing nearly 300,000 transient events from the First Palomar Sky Survey, conducted between 1942 and 1957. These "transients" appear briefly on one photographic plate but vanish from subsequent images taken just 30 minutes later. The most significant candidate exhibits a 3.9 sigma statistical significance, meaning the probability of such alignment occurring by chance is approximately 0.01% - essentially a 1 in 10,000 chance.

Perhaps most compelling is what researchers discovered when testing whether these objects appeared in Earth's shadow. According to Dr. Villarroel's analysis, if these were merely photographic plate defects, they should appear randomly anywhere on the plates. However, the shadow test revealed a statistical significance of 21.9 sigma, indicating that hundreds of thousands of these objects may represent artificial reflective surfaces requiring sunlight. As Dr. Villarroel stated in her interview, "I think it's a bigger probability that one gets eaten up by a supermassive black hole tomorrow than that this happens by chance."

The timing correlations prove equally intriguing. Transients were 45% more likely to be observed within nuclear test windows, and the objects appeared positioned at geosynchronous altitude - approximately 42,000 kilometers above Earth, the optimal position for planetary surveillance. Most significantly, these findings coincide with the famous 1952 Washington DC UFO incidents, when multiple credible witnesses, including military and civilian radar operators, reported unidentified objects over the nation's capital.

A disturbing historical footnote adds another layer to this discovery. Donald Menzel, the astronomer who provided the "temperature inversion" explanation for the 1952 Washington DC sightings, became director of Harvard Observatory just two months after those incidents. Reference materials indicate that Menzel subsequently destroyed approximately one-third of Harvard's Sky Survey data and halted astronomical surveys for 15 years, potentially eliminating crucial evidence.

Dr. Villarroel estimates there may have been 70,000 to 200,000 such objects in Earth's orbit during the early 1950s. According to her statements referenced in the interview, while she cannot definitively claim these represent extraterrestrial spacecraft, she acknowledges they could be "probes from our past ancient civilization" or evidence of "something very big that we don't know about the Earth or humanity."

The research faces significant challenges in peer review, not due to methodological issues, but because of stigma within the astronomical community. However, as Dr. Villarroel emphasized in her interview, "I believe we see a real physical phenomenon" with clear statistical correlations to nuclear testing and UFO sightings.

This discovery suggests that our understanding of what occupied Earth's orbit during one of the most pivotal periods in human history - the dawn of the nuclear age - requires serious revision. Whether representing alien surveillance, ancient terrestrial technology, or unknown natural phenomena, the statistical evidence points to something extraordinary monitoring our planet during humanity's first nuclear tests and most famous UFO incidents.