Earth's exploration of our solar system was taking another giant leap in 1976 with the Viking 1 spacecraft taking the first detailed pictures of our planetary neighbor, Mars, from its own orbit. That leap stumbled upon a shocking potentiality when it took an image of the Cydonia mesa on July 25. While the image was at first ignored as a "trick of the light" by the chief scientist of the Viking program, Gerry Soffen, image 35A72 caught the imagination of a world. Along with nearby features that appeared to be groups of pyramids was a mountain that seemed not only very symmetrical in shape but had the shape, from orbit, of a human-like face!

It was first credited by mainstream scientists to be merely an example of pareidolia, the human mind's ability to see shapes and patters in random imagery, much like pictures in clouds. There are however, a number of factors that can refute this claim of randomness. Additional images of the "face" structure have been taken at different heights, resolutions, and light angles. Even though greater surface detail (the European Space Agency's Mars Express in 2003 to image resolutions as detailed as 46 feet per pixel) did diminish the clarity of a "face" somewhat. It did not diminish the abnormal symmetry of the overall structure. Even if the underlying formations are natural, they have had help in maintaining the integrity of the symmetry that presents a face-like appearance seen from above.

There is also the matter of the "city" just a bit away from the "face" mesa. Contained in this area are structures that have mountains sharply angled to form pyramid shapes. The images of this area were studied extensively by the computer engineers, Vincent DiPietro and Gregory Molenaar. Contacted with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland these men began an attempt to explain the features in a geological sense. Although their research showed anomalies that could not be naturally occurring and sought verification from other scientists, their work was largely ignored.

Former NASA consultant Richard Hoagland, the developer of the Pioneer 10 and 11 interstellar plaques, originally took the official stance that it was all an illusion but later study caused him to about-face and make claim for an artificial nature to the structures. He discovered more pyramidal forms in the "city" part of the area including the structure called "the Fort" for what appears to be a set of straight walls and an open enclosed area. He performed solstice alignment calculations based of the positioning of the pyramidal mounds and their spatial orientations to each other. His calculations of solar alignments have held up to independent critique.

The research scientist, Dr. Mark Carlotto, reexamined the Viking images in 1986-87 utilizing new "shape-from-shading protocols for image enhancement and disproved the "trick of light and shadow" hypothesis. Not only did the enhanced images show many additional symmetrical lines and alignment angles, but that there also appeared that, hidden within the "shadows" of the original image, were structures that looked like teeth in the mouth area.

The geomorphologist and cartographer, Erol Torun, who worked with the United States Defense Mapping Agency released a cartographic/geometric analysis of the D&M pyramid demonstrating that the mountain's angles were unlikely to be obtained in a natural mountain and that no known erosion processes could produce these angles either. Dr. Horace Crater of the University of Tennessee Space Institute also published a mathematical analysis of the numerous small mounds in the area around the "face" and the "city' in 1995. His mathematical calculations discounted the probability that the placement of these mounds/structures were randomly occurring.

The controversy over the origin and composition of the objects at Cydonia rages. While some consider it all light and shadows, others feel this is an extraterrestrial proof that other intelligences have shared our solar system and shaped its planets before us. Whether they are still around, living under the surface of the red planet, or passed into the obscurity of the past will require much more investigation. It should be noted that according to ancient Sumerian texts, Mars was a way station for the Annunaki on their travels between Earth and Nibiru. We know from archeology that the ancient Sumerian culture build vast megalithic structures, many of which still stand today. Could there be a direct link to these structures and pyramids of Mesopotamia and the ones that seem to also stand on Mars?

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Major photographic resource:
NASA's official page containing the images of the Cydonia Region of Mars
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/mgs_cydonia.html
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There is an unusual dichotomy about UFO research. On the one hand, we are told there is nothing of value to it by the military and intelligence agencies. Yet, these very same agencies tend to be the one's who expend the greatest time, effort, and resources to keep control of the investigations and release of any results. The discrepancy lies between the interest shown by the intelligence community that infiltrates civilian UFO groups and the mainstream scientific community that has traditionally ignored the situation entirely.

A newcomer to the study will find their quest for knowledge waylaid at every turn. Even established scientists have continuously failed to get proper research and disclosure done through the "mainstream" routes of research. The theories behind UFO phenomena also gravitate toward a schism of thought. There are the more fantastical ideas of Shaeffer and Klass to set a counterpoint to the more conservative scientifically oriented outlook of Ruppelt, Kynek, or Keyhoe. Some areas of study focus on UFO's more in the paranormal realm than the practical science. With the squirreling away of any real knowledge by the military and intelligence agencies that are in the best position to have figured out the truth, a new researcher can have no clear path to follow.

The "great wave" of UFO sightings in the 20th Century started with the "foo fighters" of WWII and continued after the war with American observations of what were called "ghost rockets" over Europe in 1946. While they were studied by the Greek military and determined not to be either Russian or "rockets," the United States military did succeed in slapping a label of secrecy over the results. Then 1947 saw the massive outbreak of sightings all across the United States itself.

While the military agencies managed to keep the vast majority of these events secret from the public, they were often of very major and potentially catastrophic events. Many of these unknown craft were violating restricted air space over nuclear and top secret test facilities. As well as many military bases, the airspace over the Oak Ridge Nuclear Facility, Los Alamos, and Hanford were repeatedly trespassed upon. Even General Nathan Twining had noted in a classified memo that "some of the objects are controlled." He never hazarded a guess as to "what" controlled them.

By 1949 a confidential FBI internal memo was passed around stating "Army intelligence has recently said that the matter of "unidentified aircraft" or "unidentified aerial phenomena" ... is considered top secret by intelligence officers of both the Army and the Air Forces." A year later, Department of Defense Research and Development Board physicist Robert Sarbacher confided to the Canadian official Wilbert Smith that "UFO's are the most highly classified subject in the U.S. government."

Obviously the military and intelligence community feels they know enough about the UFO phenomena to make sure the public never learns the truth. It was a combined effort by the CIA and Air Force Intelligence that began the campaign in 1952 of ridiculing anyone who reported seeing a UFO. In the mid 1980's even such a trusted UFO researcher as William Moore finally confessed to having been part and parcel to a massive misinformation campaign to refute and confuse real civilian research on UFO's. Many people in the top echelons of the civilian UFO research organizations have had and still have past connections to the various covert intelligence agencies.

The clearest fact to be discovered concerning the UFO phenomena is that a great deal of effort is made at the highest levels to keep the average person from ever knowing the truth. A study of human nature will show that such activity is almost invariably done to maintain control over other people. What dirty secrets are constantly being hidden behind "national security" that would so require them to be kept for so long behind their "classified" covers?

While many of us believe in spirits there are very few of us that actually understand them. Most of civilization doesn’t even realize that there could be different kinds of spirits and different reasons that they might haunt a certain place. For our journey into the supernatural, we will be concentrating on the different kinds of ghosts that may be out there and why they may be haunting the place or person they are attached to.

People who have studied ghosts say that there are different categories of ghosts and different reasons for how they appear. Take apparitions for instance. They are different kinds of ghosts. Ninety percent of the time when someone sees an apparition it is actually a person who is dying or has been dead less than 48 hours. The person seeing them usually knows the apparition and has some kind of strong emotional contact with them.

Usually the purpose of an apparition’s visit is to say good-bye and to let family and friends know that it is time to move on. In some cases it can be simply to try to get across a message to the person they are appearing to. This has earned them the nickname of “messengers” in some circles. There are also times that they may be trying to get help solving something they were working on before they died and appear to a close family member or friend in order to get help with it.

Another but well known ghost is a poltergeist. The poltergeist is one of the most feared ghosts around just because of its ability to be very physical with the people who see it. The poltergeist has even been known to physically harm people who it materializes in front of.

Experts in paranormal research believe that they are actually demonic in nature or at the least malevolent spirits. As with the movie of the same name Poltergeist can make their presence known by slamming doors, making their footsteps  heard and even if angry enough throw things around the room. They have actually hit people with the things they have thrown at times.

Usually when an apparition makes itself known it is only a shadowy outline of the person it used to be. With intelligent apparitions, they appear as clear as when they passed to the person they want to contact. This is usually because they are desperately trying to get a message across to that person or someone close to them.

Vortexes and ectoplasm though not commonly known are also considered as ghosts. These are the wisp of smoke or the light in the corner that shows up in some photographs after they are taken. These take on no solid shape but you can sometimes see a light or mist in the center of the vortex. While ectoplasm looks more like smoke, vortexes take on more of a misty shape.

While much is still unknown about ghost and the paranormal, more is being uncovered every day. There are said to be different categories of spirits. It is still completely unclear as to why they remain on this earth and choose not to or just cannot cross to the other side. Some believe it is unfinished business while others think they may be trapped because of the way they died.

Either way as research continues it remains to be seen if ghosts are real or imagined. Some believe, some do not and until we delve deeper into the mystery that is the paranormal the truth will remain cloudy.

As we come up to the fiftieth anniversary of the famous Betty and Barney Hill alien abduction event, this baffling phenomena is due a closer look. Do we have enough information to even give a competent guess as to the motives behind the phenomena? Are these reported events even extraterrestrial in nature?

Reports of attempts by UFO crews to grab humans are not particularly new. One of the earliest reported cases was from Stockton, California in 1897 when Colonel H.G. Shaw and a companion were harassed and had to fight off three tall, humanoid beings that had emerged from a circular aircraft as the men were traveling in the mountains. However, the incidence of "alien abductions" did not begin to pick up in earnest until the 1960's. "Alien abductions" are a worldwide phenomena although most reports, over 95%, do occur in the English speaking countries of the world, most notably the United States.

There are several primary beliefs as to what may be behind these terrifying events; and terrifying they are as medical "experiments" and the helplessness of capture by unknown entities are consistent throughout the abduction phenomena. One theory involves the possibility that we are being harvested for our genetic material. It is thought that either the aliens need to rejuvenate their own kind or that they require a crossbred variety of themselves that can more easily live on this planet or pass undiscovered among us.

Another school of thought is that the supposed aliens are, in fact, actually another terrestrial species that has chosen to remain aloof from humans. It is speculated that these creatures are the basis for the old myths of "elves" and "fairies;" other mysterious creatures that have a history of abducting humans for their own nefarious means. The more theologically minded feel these creatures are actually demons of some sort who are attempting to steal a victim's soul instead of capturing them for physical genetic material.

Another theory that is quite popular is that rather than alien beings, the abductors are really humans from the future. It is believed that at some point humanity will have become genetically impoverished and have had to develop a way to replenish their diminished viability with genetic material from a distant past relative.

The one fact that is incontrovertible is that we have no way of knowing which, if any, of the above scenarios is actually the cause of abduction reports. We know that many people report experiencing this phenomenon. We know that they have similar psychological problems develop from their experience. There are cases where it seems physical evidence is left, both as scars and as metallic "implants" left in their bodies. Many thousands of people merely "disappear" every year. It cannot all be explained as runaways or serial killers. When some of these people come back and report about what happened to them, it does behoove us to pay a bit more attention. Something is happening to them and it is a serious matter.

Of the many unusual activities UFO's have been observed performing, the occasional, worldwide, sightings of unknown craft, especially saucers, hovering over lakes and streams and extending a hose into the water is one of the strangest. This is not in reference to the many UFO's that land in or take off from deep water. This is not referencing the many sightings of submersible UFO's in the ocean. What do these craft need to pull up water for? It is another of the many unexplainable aspects of the UFI phenomena.

As early as 1952 this activity has been reported. A man was fishing the Serchio River near Vico, Italy on July the 25th of that year. An object roughly 20 meters in diameter hung over the river for ten minutes with a hose extended into the water. The man said there was an orange glow coming through slits in the deck of the craft and that he spotted a humanoid being inside the craft that shot him with a "green ray" that gave him an electrical shock before swiftly rising into the sky and disappearing.

Only two years later, on November 4 of 1954, Jose Alves was also fishing the Pardo River near Pontal, Brazil. It was a still night when Alves spotted a craft that he said looked like two washbowls put together head his way. As it wobbled to a landing, Mr. Alves said it looked to be about 10 to 15 feet in diameter. Three small beings with dark skin and white close-fitting clothes emerged from the craft and took samples of plants as well as filling a tube with water from the river. Once done, they reentered their craft and took off again. Mr. Alves had never hear of UFO's or flying saucers before and referred to the beings as devils.

In 1960 an electronics engineer in Syracuse, New York reported also seeing a round object that produced a high-pitched whirring sound and had a rotating light on top land beside the river he was fishing in. He watched in terror as two "dwarfs with oversized heads" got out of the craft and drug a hose over to the water and began pumping some into their craft before they left.

In July of 1965, two mining company geologists, John Hembling and a companion who did not want to be identified witnessed a saucer appear over a small glacial lake in British Columbia, Canada. The object, about 50 feet in diameter, extended a long tube into the water as it hovered. They heard a low hum, "like a quiet electric motor" for about eight minutes before the tube was retracted and the UFO took off.

Such cases continue to be reported around the world. Rivers seem t be popular watering holes for these thirsty UFO's. Another was reported in 1969 sucking water from the Kama River near Voronov, Russia. 1973 saw a report of the same thing happening in the Braden River in Bradenton, Florida. The "water break" has not always been confined to permanent bodies of water. On April 9, 1970 a man was traveling between Langenschemmern and Aufhofen in South Germany when he witnessed a "glowing ball" extend a worm-like hose into a pool of water that had gathered in a field from earlier heavy rains.

There is no way of knowing why these craft are taking on water. It is known that it is a frequently recurring activity and that it is not confined to a single area. Many of the people who witness this bizarre behavior have had no way of knowing about other cases around the world. It is yet another mystery surrounding the UFO phenomena.

Greetings fellow UFO and aliens fans! The results are in from our Alieneight poll that started Jan. 28, 2011 and it’s clear that the majority of participants feel that their governments are hiding proof that aliens and UFOs do indeed exist, and that they just aren’t giving out the information.

This is the first of our polls for 2011, and more are being planned. A total of 352 readers answered the question; “Do you believe the government is hiding things about aliens?” The question was answered with a resounding 86 percent of the poll takers saying that, yes; they did indeed believe the government is hiding things about alien encounters. Only four percent of the poll takers said they didn’t think it was true, and 10 percent weren’t sure either way.

It’s not uncommon for UFO enthusiasts to take the government’s views on UFOs and aliens with a grain of salt. Especially after such incidents as the 1941 Roswell crash, one of the most controversial alleged alien encounters ever made. Governments all over the world are likely to report that aliens and UFOS, "present no threat to national security” and won’t really say if they have proof of their existence or not.

UFO enthusiasts around the world can name many times when strange things happened near military bases involving alleged UFO or alien encounters and the government involved would merely say it was a “weather balloon” or perhaps a “glider” or even that the person must have been seeing things. It can be very frustrating to those who feel that aliens have visited our planet and that at least some of the many sightings of aliens and UFOs reported worldwide are very likely to be real.

So, loyal readers, never fear, we will keep on bringing you all the latest information on aliens and UFOs that we can find. And if you have any ideas, feel free to send us an email and we’ll be happy to research the topic and get an article up for you to read.

Considered by many ufologists as one of the most important and well-documented UFO encounters ever, the September 19, 1976 incident in the sky over Iran provides both visual and radar evidence of the close encounter. It began shortly after midnight with the Imperial Iranian Air Force receiving civilian telephone reports of unusual lights in the sky over Tehran. While it was first passed off as just a mistaken identification of a star, Assistant Deputy Commander of Operations, General Yousefi ultimately realized that what he was seeing was not in any way normal.

Quickly he ordered an F-4 Phantom II jet fighter be launched from the Shahrokhi Air Force Base approximately 175 miles west at the city of Hamadan. Piloted by Captain Mohammad Reza Azizkhani, the plane rapidly gained a visual sighting of the UFO. He reported it as so brilliant that he could see it from 70 miles away. He first encountered a problem at 25 miles distance from the UFO. His aircraft suddenly lost all electrical instrumentation and communications. Fearing a crash Captain Azizkhan broke off his pursuit and turned away, only to have the malfunctions disappear once he had given up pursuit.

A second F-4 Phantom had also been scrambled to intercept the UFO. Lieutenant Parviz Jafari closed in on the unidentified object at a speed of 150 miles per hour. At 27 miles he acquired a radar lock on the object. AT 25 miles, the UFO began to move away from his plane; maintaining a 25-mile distance from the F-4. At that distance the object was described as a grouping of alternating blue, green, red, and orange lights arranged in a square pattern. The radar signature returned a reading comparable to a mid-sized commercial jetliner.

As Lieutenant Jafari followed the UFO south a smaller object separated from the UFO and dove rapidly at his F-4. Feeling he was under attack, th3e Lieutenant attempted to launch a Sidewinder missile only to find the weapons control to be suddenly non-functional. He then lost all instrumentation and communications just as Captain Azizkhani had. Fearing for his life, he tried to eject from the aircraft only to find the ejection mechanism was also disabled. He pulled a sharp negative-G turn in an attempt to get away. The second object followed him briefly at a distance of about 3-4 miles before veering off and returning to the UFO it had come from. The instrumentation of the F-4 once again regained function as the object moved away from the jet fighter.

It was then that another object ejected from the UFO and headed straight down. Rather than crash, it came to a soft landing near the Rey Oil Refinery. The F-4 pilots took bearings on the object and then landed at the airfield in Mehrabad. A commercial airliner, also coming in to land at Mehrabad, experienced the same instrument failure as the military planes. As they landed they spotted another unidentified object, cylindrical and with steady lights on the ends and a flashing light amidships overflew the planes and the control tower. The tower also briefly lost power when the object passed overhead.

The next day the F-4 crews took a helicopter back to the place the light had landed. It was a dry lakebed. While they found nothing extraterrestrial on the spot, they did land at a small house nearby. The residents reported hearing a loud noise and bright lightning-like flashed of light the night before. Despite further radiation and soil testing being carried out on the area, the results are unknown as any records left went missing during the subsequent uprising that drove the Shah out of power in Iran.

The encounter was deemed to be a significant event for a number of reasons. Not only were the visual sightings confirmed by radar, the same electromagnetic effects were experienced by three separate aircraft. Witnesses in several areas spotted the objects and the witnesses were of a highly credible nature. By also adding the physiological effects experienced by crewmembers of the F-4's, the event remains one of the most firmly proven UFO encounters on record.

The article has been moved to: Reptilian People

Sometimes it seems the left hand still refuses to acknowledge that the right hand exists. Even in this modern time, the primary focus of government and military nay-saying about UFO's and extraterrestrials is that none of it is real and it is all a delusional fiction. This is still being done despite many high-ranking officers, astronauts, and politicians confirming that we are far from alone not only in the cosmos but in our own solar system as well.

There is very little reason to disbelieve someone like Rear Admiral Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter, Navy, (Ret.). As well as a long and distinguished service record with the United States Navy, Admiral Hillenkoetter also served as Director of Central Intelligence running the Central Intelligence Group in 1947. He was also appointed by the U.S. Senate to be the first Director of the newly formed Central Intelligence Agency, a post he held for three years until he returned to active Naval duty during the Korean Conflict.

When he retired from the Navy he took a seat on the Board of Governors for the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) from 1957 to 1962. Hillenkoetter constantly worked for disclosure of UFO information. One of his most well-known attempts was in a letter to Congress where he stated that, "Behind the scenes, high-ranking Air Force officers are soberly concerned about UFOs. But through official secrecy and ridicule, many citizens are led to believe the unknown flying objects are nonsense."

Also acknowledging the reality and dangers of UFO's was General Benjamin W. Chidlaw of the United States Air Force. As well as being one of the directors helping develop the first U.S. jet engine he also served as Commander of the Air Defense Command at Ent Air Force Base, Colorado beginning in 1951 and Commander in Chief of the joint Continental Air Defense Command in 1954. In 1964 he made a public statement that the pursuit of Unidentified Flying Objects was taken very seriously by the Air Force as these encounters had resulted in the loss of many aircraft and personnel over the years. He stated that between 1952 and 1956 we averaged losing one aircraft for every UFO pursuit undertaken. He in no way felt the pilots of UFO's were inclined to friendliness toward terrestrial aircraft.

While he was no fan of public disclosure about UFO's, General Curtis LeMay, the warmongering influence behind the development of the Strategic Air Command, was quite candid on the subject in his 1965 biography written by McKinnlay Cantor. Despite having once threatened Senator Barry Goldwater for attempting to enter Wright Patterson Air Force Base in an attempt to look for alien bodies in Hanger 18, the General still stated, "We had a number of reports from reputable people (well-educated, serious-minded folks - scientists and flyers) who surely saw something. There is no question about it: these were things that we could not tie in with any natural phenomena known to our investigators. And repeat again: there were some cases we could not explain. Never could."

These are but a few high ranking officers who went on the record letting the public know that there was much more than "swamp gas and weather balloons" to the UFO phenomena. It remains an illogical mystery that the details and the total truth are still being hidden away about these events which can only be of profound import to every living being on this Earth. It is well past time for the doublespeak to end before it is too late.