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While the debate surrounding the existence or non-existence of extraterrestrial intelligence can be an exhausting one who hasn't peered at at the sky as child looking out for the loveable alien from Steven Spielberg's E.T. The Extra Terrestrial.
Regardless of whether or not it can be proven, there are any number of strange stories that make the existence of alien visitations seem possible.
Some of these visitations, that astronomer J. Allen Hynek liked to call 'close encounters of the first kind', are so well-recorded and inexplicable that they might just have been genuine close encounters.
Who knows what the mysterious mien of the alien contact may be.
Rediff.com takes at look at the most popular UFO sightings and close encounters of our age.
1. Roswell UFO incident
In mid 1947, a crash of a military Air Force surveillance balloon at a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico gave rise to claims alleging the crash was of an extraterrestrial spaceship.
After an initial spike of interest, the military reported that the crash was merely of a conventional weather balloon. Interest in the crash waned until the late 1970s when ufologists began promulgating a variety of increasingly elaborate conspiracy theories claiming that one or more alien spacecraft had crash-landed and that the extraterrestrial occupants had been recovered by the military who then engaged in a cover-up.
After an initial spike of interest, the military reported that the crash was merely of a conventional weather balloon. Interest in the crash waned until the late 1970s when ufologists began promulgating a variety of increasingly elaborate conspiracy theories claiming that one or more alien spacecraft had crash-landed and that the extraterrestrial occupants had been recovered by the military who then engaged in a cover-up.
2. Arizona 'V' sightings
People look at the night sky using night vision goggles during an UFO tour in the desert outside Sedona, Arizona. Picture taken February 14, 2013. Photograph: Mike Blake/ Reuters
Decades before the infamous "Phoenix Lights" sighting, Arizona residents reported seeing V-shaped formations of UFOs hovering over Yuma and Phoenix.
They reported reflective flying disks, glowing fireballs and swarms of starlike spheres streaming though the Arizona night skies.
Sedona, Arizona, is famous for its rugged landscapes, its dramatic red rock formations and -- in certain circles -- its reputation as a hotspot of extraterrestrial activity.
The possibility of spotting alien life there has certainly peaked the interest of many believers who flock to the location in hopes of witnessing alien activity.
3. Mariana Incident
The UFO installation by British designer Ross Lovegrove is seen at Lille railway station during the Lille 3000 “Fantastic” event. Photograph: Pascal Rossignol/ Reuters
In 1950, on the night of August 15, minor league baseball manager Nick Mariana became the first person to capture film footage of a UFO. It happened as he was inspecting the diamond before a game in Great Falls, Montana, which has since become a hotbed of UFO sightings, and is close to a US Air Force Base. Mariana was able to capture two bright dots streaking across the sky on his 16mm movie camera, which he says he routinely kept in his car.
After examining the film, the Air Force concluded “possible aircraft” and dropped it. While two fighters were on record as having landed at Malstrom at around the time of the sighting, Mariana insisted that he saw those, too—in a different part of the sky.
He also claimed that upon his film’s return, several frames that showed the spinning discs more clearly were missing—presumably cut by the Air Force.
4. Wiltshire crop circles
Mysterious crop circles have appeared on a hillside near Swindon, Wiltshire, on August 5, 1998, baffling local people. Photograph: Reuters
While crop circles are not considered a UFO sighting per se, believers say they are interconnected phenomena. To many people, crop circles are usually thought to be the work of hoaxers, and every year, more and more elaborate designs appear throughout not only the United Kingdom, but also all over the world.
There are those who also believe that crop circles may be coded message being sent to mankind by the alien race.
5. Mercury-Redstone image
A close up view of what ufologist Scott Waring believes is the UFO coming into view. The image was taken as part of Project Mercury, which was the US' first mission to put men in space. Scientists says claims such as this are a case of pareidolia, which tricks the brain into seeing familiar objects in random places. Photograph: NASA
The image was taken by unmanned space probe Mercury-Redstone 1A on December 19, 1960 and is what several ufologists believe to be a real alien craft. What is more interesting, however, is that it was taken not by ordinary mortals but by a state-of-the-art NASA probe. Could the machine be wrong?
6. 1942 Los Angeles sightings
In February of 1942, the United States was still recovering from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. So, when an unidentified flying object was discovered hovering over the city of Los Angeles, the city went into near panic, as there were hundreds of witnesses. The military got involved, fighter planes were shooting at the UFO, and a spotlight shining on the object as the government was trying to figure out what it was.
7. Phoenix lights
On March 13, 1997, thousands of people in Nevada and Arizona reportedly saw what many described as an immense, V-shaped object outlined by seven lights. Others, however, reported seeing orbs and triangles in the sky as well. Police departments in Phoenix, Tempe, Glendale and other Arizona cities were jammed with calls from residents
8. McMinnville incident
In Oregon, in May of 1950, a farmer named Trent saw what he believed to be an UFO at his farm outside McMinnville.
According to Trent, his wife Evelyn first spotted the object, a silvery, metallic disk. She was outside feeding her rabbits when it appeared in the early evening sky.
She called out to her husband, who came outside and watched for a couple of minutes. He then went and got a camera, and took two pictures before the object sped off to the west.