At noon on January 16, 1958, the Brazilian Navy ship Almirante Saldanha was getting ready to leave Trindade Island, a remote Brazilian island in the South Atlantic, after work for the International Geophysical Year. Captain Viegas and others on deck suddenly saw a flying object with a ring around it, like Saturn.
The object came in from the east, flew toward Pico Desejado, turned sharply and left at speed to the northwest. Almiro Baraúna, a photographer on board, was asked to take pictures and shot several frames as it passed.
The film was developed on board, and President Juscelino Kubitschek allowed the photos to be released. Skeptics have argued that Baraúna, who had made trick UFO photos before, faked them with a double exposure; the Navy did not call it a hoax, and the case is still one of Brazil's best known.