In October (some sources say January) 1969, Jimmy Carter observed a UFO in the skies near Leary in southwestern Georgia. This unidentified flying object, which appeared just after dusk, was a single luminous object about 30 degrees above the horizon that Carter estimated to be about 300 to 1000 yards away. Carter and about a dozen other men watched the object for about 10 to 12 minutes as it hovered, changed course several times, and eventually disappeared in the distance. During his 1976 Presidential campaign, Carter told reporters: "It was the darndest thing I've ever seen. It was big, it was very bright, it changed colors, and it was about the size of the moon. We watched it for ten minutes, but none of us could figure out what it was. One thing's for sure, I'll never make fun of people who say they've seen unidentified objects in the sky. If I become President, I'll make every piece of information this country has about UFO sightings available to the public and the scientists." Carter even filed an official report of the incident with NICAP, the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena. While there have been many unsubstantiated rumors of other U.S. Presidents having close encounters with UFOs, none of these have ever been confirmed or officially reported.