MSSM students revisit 1975 UFO sighting at Loring

    In late October, 1975, military personnel at Loring Air Force Base reacted with stunned surprise and high alert to the report of unidentified flying objects hovering in close proximity to the nuclear storage facility on base. Over the course of two or three nights, a strange hovering craft hailed from eastern skies defying all identification or interception by our forces. No formal identification ever occurred. A series of similar incidents were reported at SAC bases throughout the western United States at the same time.     A planetarium show entitled “Close Encounters of 1975” was designed by Maine School of Science and Mathematics students as a curriculum requirement for Jay-term and recently presented to the public during an April 12 event at the Francis Malcolm Science Center in Easton.
    Dr. Manju Prakash, a physics instructor at the school, initiated this collaborative project with Francis Malcolm planetarium Director Larry Berz. “The goal of the Jay-term (scheduled during January 2008) is to enhance students’ learning experiences outside the classroom setting. Mr. Berz directed the production around an actual ‘Unidentified Flying Object’ (UFO) event that occurred at Loring Air Base in Limestone during October, 1975,” said Prakash.
    Berz integrated the musical, theatrical, technical talents of enthusiastic high school students into the scientific script written by Dr. Prakash. The script summarized the existing astrophysical models that speculate comets, asteroids, binary neutron stars, military objects, and ancient monuments as plausible candidates for sighting.
    It seems almost everyone is interested in reports of UFOs and alien encounters, but how should these reports be interpreted? Where do these “unidentified flying objects” come from, and what are they? Are intelligent beings visiting us from another planet or some other dimension? Or are UFO reports merely a collection of hoaxes, hallucinations, and misidentified phenomena? Can all UFO reports be adequately explained, or are there some that seem to defy all natural explanations? These are just a few of the questions that were addressed in the show.
    During two-week long expedition, students operated the planetarium, sorted and prepared slides, designed special effects, and participated in theatrical activities. The group also toured the site of Loring’s nuclear weapon storage area, now part of the Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge.
    Christopher Gaskell, an MSSM sophomore from Sanford, said working outside the classroom on a joint project with the science center has improved his social skills. “This unique experience has helped me to find out what it will be like to be in the world outside of school.”
    Another MSSM sophomore from Sanford, Christopher Lemay said the project “accelerated” his education in science and math.    
    Additional MSSM students who participated in the design of the planetarium show “Close Encounters of 1975” include: InBeom Song, Eileen Haffner, Jordan Dolan, Nicholas Castonguay, Christopher Cope and Cheney Larock.