What comes to mind when someone talks about UFOs? Do you think about the cover of a science fiction novel and the image of mysterious bluish lights shining down from it? Think about the time you were out late at night and saw a flash of light, wondering what it was, only to realize moments later that what you saw wasn't a UFO - it was just the lights of a plane starting its descent. Do you think of movies, green men, and cartoons, or do you just turn away and shake your head?
Many people refer to UFOs as flying saucers - that seems to be the best description they can come up with. Others suggest, rather dismissively, that UFO simply means an unidentified flying object, and that the light someone saw flashing in the sky was either an airplane, a helicopter, or the reflection of light from a cell phone tower or another metal object.
Light reflections from a cell phone tower do little to explain the "mysterious materials" found in Roswell, New Mexico in the late 1940s. While the United States military has always maintained that the materials were just fragments of a research balloon, a top-secret test gone wrong, others offer a different explanation. They claim the materials were fragments of a UFO, an extraterrestrial craft that crashed rather than landed safely. They believe that the found "flying disc" - as military personnel called it - could not be something out of this world, and so began one of the most talked about UFO encounters in the world.
Many who believe that the UFO in Roswell, New Mexico deserved more attention than it received, believe that it was not something that could be simply dismissed. In part, it will probably have something to do with other stories surrounding the flying saucer. A farmer talked about finding the materials miles away from Roswell, and the story made the news, complete with photos of the strange find—strips of rubber, something like aluminum foil, sticks. It is a story that has gained so much attention around the world that it has influenced many people to feel alien life and extraterrestrial visits to Earth.
If the story of Roswell, New Mexico had never become so widespread, UFOs and flying saucers might not be so common in our language, in our experiences, and novels, television programs, and movies. How common is it for people to see UFOs?
Hard to say because many people who see an unidentified flying object in the sky are reluctant to report it. Either the person who saw the UFO believes that there is a much more logical explanation, or they just think that no one would believe them if they said anything about it. And yet there are UFO sightings that are shared and become the subject of conspiracy theories by those who believe that Earth has been visited by beings from other planets and galaxies.
One such incident occurred in 1980 at Rendlesham Forest in Suffolk, England. All UFO sighters claimed to have seen flashing lights emanating from an unidentified flying object descending toward the woods—a UFO that was roughly the size of a car and appeared to be floating on a beam of light. After reports were made of the object, it was found that the trees were damaged, the radio frequencies became only static, and soil samples later showed radioactive activity.
Similarly, in Gulf Breeze, Florida, UFO stories began to circulate in 1987 when a man saw a strange light coming from his front lawn. When he saw the flying saucer, he grabbed his camera and started taking pictures as proof of what he saw. Of course, in this situation the story was not just about UFO sightings, but about repeated experiences and how the man was transported to the ship.
Although discussions of these UFO sightings continue and audio recordings and photo documentation exist, it is still difficult to determine whether the unidentified flying objects were actually from outer space. Many have claimed, about the UFO sightings in Gulf Breeze, Florida, that the man manipulated the photos and made up the story.
In any case, both sides—believers and skeptics alike—will find evidence to support their claims. Those who believe in UFOs and extraterrestrial visitation cite facts that they claim cannot be otherwise explained. Those who are skeptical offer their explanations along with their supporting evidence. Which side is right? For now, it's up to you to decide.
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