- Researchers at Harvard University believe that aliens may already be living on the Earth, or on a base inside the Moon
- The paper was published by a team on the Human Flourishing program
- While we’re still uncertain, here are 10 other alien mysteries from across the globe
Is there really life on Mars? Well, according to a group of academics at Harvard University, aliens could be even closer than that.
That’s right – if a paper published by researchers on the Human Flourishing program at the prestigious university is to be believed, extraterrestrials may already be living on the Earth, or on a base inside the Moon.
While we’ll let you decide whether or not you think aliens are walking amongst us, it would certainly explain some of the more unusual goings on from across the planet.
Here are 10 unexplained mysteries that may have something to do with Harvard’s new discovery…
1. 1897 – Aurora, Texas, USA
Only a few months before the US publication of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, an aircraft plummeted from the sky in the small town of Aurora, Texas.
The UFO is said to have hit a windmill on the property of a Judge J.S. Proctor, resulting in its crash. The pilot was reported to be “not of this world”, and did not survive the crash – but was buried “with Christian rites” at the nearby Aurora Cemetery.
The wreckage from the spaceship was dumped in a nearby well – which was eventually sealed up by Mr Brawley Oates, who bought Proctor’s house around 1935.
Oates apparently cleaned out the debris from the well in order to use it as a water source, but later developed an extremely severe case of arthritis, which he claimed to be the result of contaminated water from the wreckage.
2. 1946 – Ängelholm, Sweden
Almost a year after the end of the Second World War, Gösta Karlsson of Ängelholm, Sweden, reported seeing a flying saucer and its alien passengers.
Walking back from the beach through Kronoskogen, Carlsson noticed a light at the edge of a clearing. He approached, and reported seeing a disc sitting on a keel-like fin and a pair of retractable legs.
Carlsson claims to have interacted with the crew, one of whom used a device resembling a chest-mounted bellows camera to keep him away. He described the human-looking crew as wearing tight-fitting, white flight suits with dark boots, belts, hoods, and earplugs.
After Carlsson witnessed the craft leave, he returned to the clearing to gather what he believed were discarded artifacts, including a quartz rod.
He measured gouges in the ground that he attributed to the craft, and created sketches that would later form the basis of the UFO memorial. Throughout 1946, Carlsson reported a series of strange dreams where he said the UFO’s pilot would communicate ideas to him.
Today, a concrete model of the spacecraft stands at the site.
3. 1947 – Mount Rainer, Washington, USA
This was the sighting that truly started the world’s fascination with aliens.
While flying his CallAir A2 near Washington’s Mount Rainer, civilian pilot Kenneth Arnold claimed to have seen nine blue, glowing objects flying fast – at an estimated 1,932 km/h – in a ‘V’ formation.
While he first believed them to be a new military aircraft, the authorities confirmed that no tests were being conducted in the area that day.
And after Arnold described the crafts’ motion as similar to “a saucer if you skip it across water”, the press coined the phrase “flying saucer”.
4. 1947 – Roswell, New Mexico, USA, 1947
Just to add to the frenzy, someone else came forward to add to the mystery barely two weeks later.
After hearing about Arnold’s story, W.W. ‘Mac’ Brazel recalled that he had found the crumpled silvery remains of an ‘aircraft’ – including metallic rods, chunks of plastic and unusual, papery scraps – scattered over his ranch near Roswell, New Mexico.
The finds are gathered and quickly taken to Fort Worth Army Air Field for analysis, and military officials said it was only a downed weather balloon – but conspiracy theorists have worked hard since to prove that it was actually down to aliens.
In 1995, Ray Santilli released a video of an ‘alien dissection’, purported to have taken place after the incident. He admitted in 2006 that it was a staged film, but still insisted that it was based on actual footage.
In actual fact, the government was covering something up – but it had less to do with aliens, and more to do with the Cold War.
The crashed weather balloon was part of a top-secret military endeavor called Project Mogul, which launched high-altitude balloons carrying equipment used to detect Soviet nuclear tests.
Thoroughly debunking the mystery in a 1997, 231-page report called Case Closed: Final Report on the Roswell Crash, the town’s tourism is still based on the famous ‘UFO sighting’.
Roswell is home to the International UFO Museum and Research Center – and a spaceship-shaped McDonald’s.
5. 1954 – Florence, Italy
With UFOs now a world phenomenon, 10,000 soccer fans would catch a glimpse of a sighting on November 27, 1954.
During a match at Florence’s Stadio Artemi Franchi, the stadium fell eerily silent – as the spectators were no longer watching the match, but were looking up at the sky at a group of objects “moving very fast”, that looked “like Cuban cigars”.
According to witnesses, the experience lasted a couple of minutes.
One of the players, Romolo Tuci, revealed, “In those years everybody was talking about aliens, everybody was talking UFOs and we had the experience, we saw them, we saw them directly, for real.”
6. 1959 – Dyatlov Pass, Russia
Between February 1 and 2, 1959, an experienced hiking group from the Ural Polytechnical Institute were killed in the northern Ural mountains.
Overnight, something caused them to cut their way out of their tent and flee the campsite while inadequately dressed for the heavy snowfall and subzero temperatures.
After the group’s bodies were discovered, an investigation by Soviet authorities determined that six of them had died from hypothermia while the other three had been killed by brutal physical trauma – with two of the bodies missing eyes.
Strange lights were reported and radiation levels were unusually high.
While the Dyatlov Pass incident remained a mystery for decades to come, in 2020, it was concluded by Russian authorities that the group had been killed while trying to escape an avalanche.
7. 1978 – Emilcin, Poland
A farmer called Jan Wolski was out driving a horse-drawn cart early on 10 May, 1978 in Emilcin, Poland, when he says he was suddenly attacked by two “short, green-faced humanoid entities” about 5 feet (1.5 m) tall.
Wolski says he was abducted and medically examined by the pair, who were speaking an unearthly language.
At the time, the media ignored Wolski – but there is now a memorial at the site.
8. 1979 – Dechmont Law, Scotland
While walking a path with his dog on November 9, 1979, forester Robert Taylor claimed that a “flying dome” had tried to abduct him.
The dome was “a dark metallic material with a rough texture like sandpaper” and smelled like “burning brakes”. It apparently seized Taylor and dragged him in the direction of the larger object when he lost consciousness.
When he awoke, the craft was gone – but he could not start his car, so walked home. According to Taylor’s wife, he returned with torn clothes and grazes to his chin and thighs.
The police recorded the incident as criminal assault.
9. 1980 – Rendlesham Forest, England
Around 100 miles northeast of London, U.S. Air Force members stationed at two British Royal Air Force bases, Woodbridge and Bentwaters, reported seeing strange, colorful lights above Rendlesham Forest.
The strange goings on prompted one man to enter the forest, who claimed to have discovered some sort of spacecraft there. The next day, others confirmed damage to nearby trees and a higher-than-normal level of radiation at the site.
Several days later, more sightings were reported.
Lieutenant Colonel Charles Halt recorded his observations on an audio tape as he watched the lights, and while not definitive proof, theorists consider this the strongest evidence of the events.
However, the UK’s Ministry of Defence didn’t find any credible threat to the nation, and didn’t pursue investigations further.
10. 2014 – Kensington, Canada
On June 4, 2014, John Sheppard was camping with his wife at Twin Shores near Kensington, Canada.
At about 11.30pm that evening, while putting out a bonfire, he witnessed numerous lights in the sky over the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and filmed 22 minutes of activity on his cellphone.
“It’s flashing bright, on and off a little bit. It reminds me of a dreidel or spin top,” said Sheppard in the video. “No idea what it is. Never seen anything like it.
Musing he hopes the video can be enhanced or brightened so people can get a good view of what he’s seeing, he added, “Cause people are going to think I’m crazy or something.”
Sending the footage to the Mutual UFO Network of Canada, assistant director Stu Bundy said, “It’s very rare. Extremely rare. This is great. This is a really serious sighting, and we still refer to it as one of the best UFO sightings in the Maritimes.”
