Area 51
Area 51 is synonymous with tales of UFOs, government cover-ups and potentially testing alien technology.
military installation, Nevada, United States
Area 51, secret U.S. Air Force military installation located at Groom Lake in southern Nevada. It is administered by Edwards Air Force Base in southern California. The installation has been the focus of numerous conspiracies involving extraterrestrial life, though its only confirmed use is as a flight testing facility.
U-2
U-2, a U.S. high-altitude aircraft, c. 1957.
* [Who designed U-2?
The U-2 aircraft was designed by aeronautical engineer Kelly Johnson, head of the Lockheed Corporation's famous, semisecret "Skunk Works." It was based on the fuselage of the supersonic F-104 Starfighter interceptor.]
*[When did the U-2 first fly?
A prototype of the U-2 aircraft first flew in 1955.]
*[How high can the U-2 aircraft fly?
The U-2 aircraft, built of aluminum and limited to subsonic flight, can cruise for many hours above 70,000 feet (21,000 meters) with a payload weighing 3,000 pounds (1,350 kg). Its exact operational specifications are secret.]
*[When was the last U-2 built?
The last aircraft in the U-2]
*[What is the U-2 Incident?
The U-2 Incident was a confrontation in 1960 between the United States and the Soviet Union that began with the shooting down of a U.S. U-2 reconnaissance plane over the Soviet Union and caused the collapse of a summit conference in Paris. The pilot was sentenced to 10 years’ confinement, but he was exchanged for a Soviet spy in 1962.]
U-2, single-seat, high-altitude jet aircraft flown by the United States for intelligence gathering, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Perhaps the most famous spy plane ever built, the U-2, also known as the Dragon Lady, has been in service since 1956. A prototype flew in 1955, and the last plane in the series was built in 1989.
Lockheed U-2
U.S. Air Force Lockheed U-2 in flight, 2003.
U-2 Incident
The wreckage of Francis Gary Powers's U-2 reconnaissance plane.
At first the plane was used by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the U.S. Air Force (USAF) to monitor electronic emissions, to sample the upper atmosphere for evidence of nuclear weapons tests, and to photograph sites deep within the territory of the Soviet Union, China, and other Cold War enemies. On May 1, 1960, a U-2 was shot down over the Soviet Union, precipitating the U-2 Affair, and in 1962, during the Cuban missile crisis, a U-2 took photographs that confirmed the presence of Soviet nuclear-armed missiles in Cuba. Strategic intelligence-gathering missions have continued, but the U-2 also has been used for battlefield reconnaissance and surveillance in numerous conflicts and tension spots where the United States has been engaged since the Vietnam War in the 1960s.
U-2U-2, a U.S. high-altitude aircraft, c. 1957.
Over its long service life the U-2 has periodically faced competition from other intelligence-gathering systems—for instance, Earth-orbiting satellites or the supersonic SR-71 Blackbird spy plane—but intelligence and military services consistently have found it useful because of its operational flexibility, excellent aerodynamic design, and adaptable airframe. In 2011 the USAF indicated that the U-2 was scheduled for retirement from service sometime after 2015, with many of its functions to be adopted by high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles. With the expansion of the U.S. military campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant in 2014, however, the retirement of the U-2 was pushed back indefinitely.
The U-2, built of aluminum and limited to subsonic flight, can cruise for many hours above 70,000 feet (21,000 metres) with a payload weighing as much as 3,000 pounds (1,350 kg). Its exact operational specifications are secret. It was designed by Kelly Johnson, head of the Lockheed Corporation’s famous, semisecret “Skunk Works,” based on the fuselage of the supersonic F-104 Starfighter interceptor. In the late 1960s the airframe was enlarged by more than one-third over the original structure, bringing the aircraft to a fuselage length of 63 feet (19 metres) and a wingspan of 104 feet (32 metres). An array of systems for mapping and imaging terrain, detecting communication signals, and performing a host of other intelligence-gathering and surveillance activities is installed in bays located in the aircraft’s nose, in the fuselage behind the pilot, and in large pods located at mid-wing. Most of these systems operate autonomously or under the control of operators located on the ground. The pilot, wearing a sealed pressure suit and breathing bottled oxygen, is almost exclusively concerned with flying the plane.
Since the 1980s the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has operated modified U-2s, designated ER-2 (for “Earth resources”), for the collection of data on the atmosphere, Earth, and celestial phenomena.
F-117F-117
aircraft
F-117, also called Nighthawk, single-seat, twin-engine jet fighter-bomber built by the Lockheed Corporation (now part of the Lockheed Martin Corporation) for the U.S. Air Force. It was the first stealth aircraft—i.e., an aircraft designed entirely around the concept of evading detection by radar and other sensors. After a difficult development period, during which several prototypes crashed during testing, the first operational craft was secretly delivered to the Air Force in 1982. The existence of the aircraft was officially acknowledged in 1988, and production ended in 1990 with the 59th plane. There was only one operational variant, known as the F-117A. F-117s saw extensive combat use, from the incursion into Panama in 1989 through the Persian Gulf War of 1990–91 to the Iraq War of 2003–11. The only combat loss took place in 1999, during the Kosovo conflict. The F-117 was retired in stages between 2006 and 2008.
The F-117 had its origins in a request made in 1974 by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the U.S. Department of Defense for a military aircraft that would emit or reflect so little radio, infrared, or light energy that it could slip undetected through an enemy’s electronic warning system. As developed by Lockheed’s Advanced Development Projects division (known as the “Skunk Works” for its top-secret work on such aircraft as the U-2 and SR-71 spy planes), the F-117 had a triangular outline, wings swept sharply back from the nose at a 67° angle, and a surface composed of many flat planes oriented in such a manner as to reflect radar waves away from their transmitter. Radar reflection was further reduced by surface coatings of radar-absorbing material. Power was supplied by two General Electric turbofan jet engines, which, having no afterburners, limited the aircraft to subsonic speeds but reduced its infrared emissions. Weaponry, consisting of laser-guided bombs or radar-seeking or infrared-seeking missiles, was carried internally. By using inertial guidance, infrared sensors, digital maps, and radio commands from satellites or other aircraft, the F-117 could navigate without emitting its own telltale radar signals.
Explore the conspiracy theories surrounding Area 51
Transcript
Area 51 has spawned more conspiracy theories than perhaps any other military facility in the world. So what is actually known about this secretive place? Area 51 is a US Air Force military installation located at Groom Lake in southern Nevada.
It is not accessible to the public and under 24-hour surveillance. Area 51 employees reach the facility by way of airplane. They fly in and out of a restricted terminal at McCarran International Airport on one of several unmarked planes permitted to fly through the airspace above. Adding to the secrecy, satellite imagery of the installation was censored until 2018.
As of today, Area 51 is visible on Google Maps. The only confirmed use of the installation is as a flight testing facility. During World War II, the US Army Air Corps has used the site as an aerial gunnery range.
In 1955, the area was selected by the CIA as a testing site for the Lockheed U-2, a high altitude reconnaissance aircraft. President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized the testing, which was to be conducted under the codename Project Aquatone. After the U-2 was put into service in 1956, Area 51 was used to develop other aircraft, including the A-12 reconnaissance plane, also known as Oxcart, and the stealth fighter F-117 Nighthawk.
On June 25th, 2013, the CIA approved the release of declassified documents chronicling the history of the U-2 and Oxcart programs in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. The release of those documents marked the first time that the US government formally acknowledged the existence of Area 51. Since then, not much other information has been forthcoming.
We know what you're thinking. What about the aliens? Many people have reported seeing unidentified flying objects in or near Area 51. And the popular image of the place is a secret site for extraterrestrial research. How did that come about?
In 1989, a man named Robert Lazar claims he worked on extraterrestrial technology inside Area 51. Lazar told Las Vegas television reporter George Knapp that he saw autopsy photographs of aliens inside the facility, and that the US government used the facility to examine recovered alien spacecraft. Although Lazar himself was discredited, his claims spun numerous government conspiracy theories, most of which involve extraterrestrial life.
According to the CIA, test flights of the U-2 and subsequent military aircraft account for many of the UFO sightings in the area. There is no evidence of extraterrestrial contact at Area 51, or anywhere else.
For years there was speculation about the installation, especially amid growing reports of UFO sightings in the vicinity. The site became known as Area 51, which was its designation on maps of the Atomic Energy Commission. Conspiracy theories gained support in the late 1980s, when a man alleging to have worked at the installation claimed that the government was examining recovered alien spacecraft.
In 2013 the U.S. government officially acknowledged the existence of Area 51. That year the National Security Archive at the George Washington University obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) a formerly classified CIA document that chronicled the history of the U-2 spy plane; a heavily redacted version had previously been released in 1998. According to the report, in 1955 the remote site—which included an airfield not used by the military since World War II—was selected in order to test the U-2. Test flights of that spy plane, and subsequent aircraft, accounted for many of the UFO sightings in the area; the U-2 could reach altitudes much higher than any other planes at the time. After the U-2 was put into service in 1956, Area 51 was used to develop other aircraft, including the A-12 (also known as OXCART) reconnaissance plane and the stealth fighter F-117 Nighthawk.
"The Real Story Behind the Myth of Area 51"
For decades, Nevada’s Area 51 Air Force facility has represented the eye of a conspiratorial hurricane that swirls around “evidence” that aliens (and their technology) exist and are hiding behind its walls. Books, TV shows, and even massive online “raids” have tried to glimpse beyond its stark signs warning against trespassers.
While aliens aren’t taking up residence in the compound, what is going on there is just as interesting.
In the middle of the barren Nevada desert, there’s a dusty unmarked road that leads to the front gate of Area 51. It’s protected by little more than a chain link fence, a boom gate, and intimidating trespassing signs. One would think that America’s much mythicized top secret military base would be under closer guard, but make no mistake. They are watching.
Beyond the gate, cameras see every angle. On the distant hilltop, there’s a white pickup truck with a tinted windshield peering down on everything below. Locals says the base knows every desert tortoise and jackrabbit that hops the fence. Others claim there are embedded sensors in the approaching road.
What exactly goes on inside of Area 51 has led to decades of wild speculation. There are, of course, the alien conspiracies that galactic visitors are tucked away somewhere inside. One of the more colorful rumors insists the infamous 1947 Roswell crash was actually a Soviet aircraft piloted by mutated midgets and the wreckage remains on the grounds of Area 51. Some even believe that the U.S. government filmed the 1969 moon landing in one of the base’s hangars.
For all the myths and legends, what’s true is that Area 51 is very real—and still very active. There may not be aliens or a moon landing movie set inside those fences, but something is going on and only a select few are privy to what’s happening further down that closely monitored wind-swept Nevada road.
“The forbidden aspect of Area 51 is what makes people want to know what’s there,” says aerospace historian and author Peter Merlin who’s been researching Area 51 for more than three decades.
“And there sure is still a lot going on there.”
The Origins of a Mystery
The beginning of Area 51 is directly related to the development of the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft. After World War II, the Soviet Union lowered the Iron Curtain around themselves and the rest of the Eastern bloc, creating a near intelligence blackout to the rest of the world. When the Soviets backed North Korea’s invasion of South Korea in June 1950, it became increasingly clear that the Kremlin would aggressively expand its influence. America worried about the USSR’s technology, intentions, and ability to launch a surprise attack—only a decade removed from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
In the early 1950s, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force sent low-flying aircraft on reconnaissance missions over the USSR, but they were at constant risk of being shot down. In November 1954, President Eisenhower approved the secret development of a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft called the U-2 program. One of the first orders of business was to track down a remote, covert location for training and testing. They found it in the southern Nevada desert near a salt flat known as Groom Lake, which had once been a World War II aerial gunnery range for Army Air Corps pilots.
Known by its map designation as Area 51, this middle-of-nowhere site became a new top-secret military base. To convince workers to come, Kelly Johnson, one of the leading engineers of the U-2 project, gave it a more enticing name: Paradise Ranch.
Making a Myth
U-2 testing began in July 1955, and immediately, reports came flooding in about unidentified flying object sightings. If you read the details in a 1992 CIA report that was declassified with redactions in 1998 (and subsequently released nearly in full in 2013), it’s easy to see why.
Many of these sightings were observed by commercial airline pilots who had never seen an aircraft fly at such high altitudes as the U-2. Whereas today’s airliners can soar as high as 45,000 feet, in the mid-1950s airlines flew at altitudes between 10,000 and 20,000 feet. Known military aircraft could get to 40,000 feet, and some believed manned flight couldn’t go any higher than that. The U-2, flying at altitudes in excess of 60,000 feet, would’ve looked completely alien.
Naturally, Air Force officials knew the majority of these unexplained sightings were U-2 tests, but they were not allowed to reveal these details to the public. So, “natural phenomena” or “high-altitude weather research” became go-to explanations for UFO sightings, including in 1960 when Gary Powers’ U-2 was shot down over Russia.
What’s also interesting about the most recent 2013 report is that it confirms Area 51’s existence. While the 1998 version does have significant redactions when referencing the name and location of the U-2 test site, the nearly un-redacted version from 2013 reveals much more, including multiple references to Area 51, Groom Lake, and even a map of the area.
“This Is Earth Technology”
U-2 operations halted in the late 1950s, but other top secret military aircrafts continued tests at Area 51. Over the years, the A-12 and numerous stealth aircrafts like Bird of Prey, F-117A, and TACIT BLUE have all been developed and tested in the Nevada desert. More declassified documents reveal Area 51’s role in “Project Have Doughnut,” a 1970s attempt to study covertly obtained Soviet MiGs.
“This is Earth technology. You got folks claiming it’s extraterrestrial when it’s really good old American know-how.”
They flew them [over Area 51]..and pitted our own fighters against them to develop tactics,” says Merlin, “They learned that you can’t out-turn it, but you can outrun it. And it’s still going on today.... Now, instead of seeing MiG-17s and 21s, there’s MiG-29s and SU-27s.”
The flights are ongoing. In September 2017, an Air Force Lt. Col. was killed under mysterious circumstances when his plane crashed in Nevada and the Pentagon would not immediately ID the aircraft. It seems he was most likely flying a foreign jet obtained by the United States.
Even so, the alien conspiracies gained ground in 1989 when Bob Lazar claimed in an interview on Las Vegas local news that he’d seen aliens and had helped to reverse-engineer alien spacecrafts while working at the base. Many have disregarded this as fiction and are even offended at the notion, including Merlin, who has spent years talking with former Area 51 engineers and employees angered by all the fuss about E.T.
“Some are even mad because they worked on these things and built these amazing planes,” Merlin says. “This is Earth technology. You got folks claiming it’s extraterrestrial when it’s really good old American know-how.”
Area 51 on July 20, 2016.
The Truth Is Out There
Today, Area 51 is still very much in use. According to Google Earth, new construction and expansions are continuously happening. On most early mornings, eagle-eyed visitors can spot strange lights in the sky moving up and down. No, it’s not a UFO. It’s actually the semi-secret contract commuter airline using the call sign “Janet” that transports workers from Las Vegas’s McCarran Airport to the base.
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facebook page created as joke to "storm area 51" becomes viral sensation
David Becker//Getty Images
MilitaryResearch
The Real Story Behind the Myth of Area 51
There might not be aliens at America’s most famous top-secret military base, but what is there is just as interesting.
BY MATT BLITZPUBLISHED: JUN 25, 2022
For decades, Nevada’s Area 51 Air Force facility has represented the eye of a conspiratorial hurricane that swirls around “evidence” that aliens (and their technology) exist and are hiding behind its walls. Books, TV shows, and even massive online “raids” have tried to glimpse beyond its stark signs warning against trespassers.
While aliens aren’t taking up residence in the compound, what is going on there is just as interesting.
In the middle of the barren Nevada desert, there’s a dusty unmarked road that leads to the front gate of Area 51. It’s protected by little more than a chain link fence, a boom gate, and intimidating trespassing signs. One would think that America’s much mythicized top secret military base would be under closer guard, but make no mistake. They are watching.
Beyond the gate, cameras see every angle. On the distant hilltop, there’s a white pickup truck with a tinted windshield peering down on everything below. Locals says the base knows every desert tortoise and jackrabbit that hops the fence. Others claim there are embedded sensors in the approaching road.
road, mountain pass, highland, thoroughfare, infrastructure, traffic sign, asphalt, highway, signage, ecoregion,
Getty
What exactly goes on inside of Area 51 has led to decades of wild speculation. There are, of course, the alien conspiracies that galactic visitors are tucked away somewhere inside. One of the more colorful rumors insists the infamous 1947 Roswell crash was actually a Soviet aircraft piloted by mutated midgets and the wreckage remains on the grounds of Area 51. Some even believe that the U.S. government filmed the 1969 moon landing in one of the base’s hangars.
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For all the myths and legends, what’s true is that Area 51 is very real—and still very active. There may not be aliens or a moon landing movie set inside those fences, but something is going on and only a select few are privy to what’s happening further down that closely monitored wind-swept Nevada road.
“The forbidden aspect of Area 51 is what makes people want to know what’s there,” says aerospace historian and author Peter Merlin who’s been researching Area 51 for more than three decades.
“And there sure is still a lot going on there.”
area 51
The U-2 high altitude reconnaissance aircraft, in the late 1950s.
U.S. Air Force//Getty Images
The Origins of a Mystery
The beginning of Area 51 is directly related to the development of the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft. After World War II, the Soviet Union lowered the Iron Curtain around themselves and the rest of the Eastern bloc, creating a near intelligence blackout to the rest of the world. When the Soviets backed North Korea’s invasion of South Korea in June 1950, it became increasingly clear that the Kremlin would aggressively expand its influence. America worried about the USSR’s technology, intentions, and ability to launch a surprise attack—only a decade removed from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
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In the early 1950s, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force sent low-flying aircraft on reconnaissance missions over the USSR, but they were at constant risk of being shot down. In November 1954, President Eisenhower approved the secret development of a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft called the U-2 program. One of the first orders of business was to track down a remote, covert location for training and testing. They found it in the southern Nevada desert near a salt flat known as Groom Lake, which had once been a World War II aerial gunnery range for Army Air Corps pilots.
Known by its map designation as Area 51, this middle-of-nowhere site became a new top-secret military base. To convince workers to come, Kelly Johnson, one of the leading engineers of the U-2 project, gave it a more enticing name: Paradise Ranch.
Making a Myth
U-2 testing began in July 1955, and immediately, reports came flooding in about unidentified flying object sightings. If you read the details in a 1992 CIA report that was declassified with redactions in 1998 (and subsequently released nearly in full in 2013), it’s easy to see why.
Many of these sightings were observed by commercial airline pilots who had never seen an aircraft fly at such high altitudes as the U-2. Whereas today’s airliners can soar as high as 45,000 feet, in the mid-1950s airlines flew at altitudes between 10,000 and 20,000 feet. Known military aircraft could get to 40,000 feet, and some believed manned flight couldn’t go any higher than that. The U-2, flying at altitudes in excess of 60,000 feet, would’ve looked completely alien.
airplane, vehicle, aircraft, crew, white collar worker,
Kelly Johnson, left, and Francis Gary Powers with U-2 aircraft behind. Powers was eventually shot down in the USSR in 1960.
U.S. Air Force
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Naturally, Air Force officials knew the majority of these unexplained sightings were U-2 tests, but they were not allowed to reveal these details to the public. So, “natural phenomena” or “high-altitude weather research” became go-to explanations for UFO sightings, including in 1960 when Gary Powers’ U-2 was shot down over Russia.
What’s also interesting about the most recent 2013 report is that it confirms Area 51’s existence. While the 1998 version does have significant redactions when referencing the name and location of the U-2 test site, the nearly un-redacted version from 2013 reveals much more, including multiple references to Area 51, Groom Lake, and even a map of the area.
“This Is Earth Technology”
U-2 operations halted in the late 1950s, but other top secret military aircrafts continued tests at Area 51. Over the years, the A-12 and numerous stealth aircrafts like Bird of Prey, F-117A, and TACIT BLUE have all been developed and tested in the Nevada desert. More declassified documents reveal Area 51’s role in “Project Have Doughnut,” a 1970s attempt to study covertly obtained Soviet MiGs.
“This is Earth technology. You got folks claiming it’s extraterrestrial when it’s really good old American know-how.”
“They flew them [over Area 51]..and pitted our own fighters against them to develop tactics,” says Merlin, “They learned that you can’t out-turn it, but you can outrun it. And it’s still going on today.... Now, instead of seeing MiG-17s and 21s, there’s MiG-29s and SU-27s.”
The flights are ongoing. In September 2017, an Air Force Lt. Col. was killed under mysterious circumstances when his plane crashed in Nevada and the Pentagon would not immediately ID the aircraft. It seems he was most likely flying a foreign jet obtained by the United States.
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Even so, the alien conspiracies gained ground in 1989 when Bob Lazar claimed in an interview on Las Vegas local news that he’d seen aliens and had helped to reverse-engineer alien spacecrafts while working at the base. Many have disregarded this as fiction and are even offended at the notion, including Merlin, who has spent years talking with former Area 51 engineers and employees angered by all the fuss about E.T.
“Some are even mad because they worked on these things and built these amazing planes,” Merlin says. “This is Earth technology. You got folks claiming it’s extraterrestrial when it’s really good old American know-how.”
aerial photography, photography, thoroughfare, map,
Area 51
The Truth Is Out There
Today, Area 51 is still very much in use. According to Google Earth, new construction and expansions are continuously happening. On most early mornings, eagle-eyed visitors can spot strange lights in the sky moving up and down. No, it’s not a UFO. It’s actually the semi-secret contract commuter airline using the call sign “Janet” that transports workers from Las Vegas’s McCarran Airport to the base.
As for what’s happening these days in America’s most secretive military base, few know for sure. Merlin has some educated guesses, including improved stealth technology, advanced weapons, electronic warfare systems and, in particular, unmanned aerial vehicles. Chris Pocock, noted U-2 historian and author of several books about the matter, told Popular Mechanics he thinks classified aircraft, more exotic forms of radio communication, directed energy weapons, and lasers are currently under development at the base.
While the lore around Area 51 may be nothing more than imaginative fiction, that won’t stop people from gawking just beyond those chain link fences. “At the most basic level, anytime you have something secret or forbidden, it’s human nature,” says Merlin. “You want to find out what it is.”
Fact or fiction, aliens are a big tourism draw. In 1996, the state of Nevada renamed Route 375 as the “Extraterrestrial Highway,” and destinations such as the Alien Research Center and the Little A’Le’Inn (in the town of Rachel with a population around 54) dot the road.
To Area 51’s west, there’s the Alien Cathouse which is advertised as the only alien-themed brothel in the world. Geocaching also attracts visitors here since the highway is considered a “mega-trial” with over 2,000 geocaches hidden in the area.
Then there’s the actual base. While getting inside is not in the cards for most, curious civilians can actually drive up to front and back gates. Locals will direct you, and the website Dreamland Resort is a great resource full of maps, driving directions, and first-hand accounts.
However, one should be careful when planning a trek to Area 51. It’s the desert, after all, so bring plenty of water, snacks, and have proper weather gear—for the hot days and the cold nights. Phone service and GPS probably won’t work, so have printouts and actual maps. Gas stations are few and far in between, so carry spare fuel and tires.
Also, remember the government doesn’t really want you peering into Area 51. Both Merlin and Pocock confirmed that they have been closely observed or even intimidated by guards and security (including an F-16 fly-by). Do not trespass under any circumstances or arrests and heavy fines await you.
Area 51 Is the Internet's Latest Fascination. Here's Everything to Know About the Mysterious Site
Area 51 has been shrouded in mystery for decades, so it only makes sense that the rumored alien secrets held within the remote desert site would get a reboot in the social media age.
The internet has been invaded by Area 51 memes inspired by a joke Facebook event to take over the secretive military site and find the supposed aliens kept inside. The event, called “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us,” is planned for Sept. 20, and so far 1.5 million people have signed on.
As far back as the 1950s, people have reported seeing Unidentified Flying Objects (U.F.O.’s) at the southern Nevada military base.
On June 17, 1959, the Reno Evening Gazette published a story with the headline “More Flying Objects Seen In Clark Sky,” and described how Sgt. Wayne Anderson of the local sheriff’s office was among several locals to spot what the paper described as an object “bright green in color and descending toward the earth at a speed too great to be an airplane.”
According to the CIA, secretive flight testing has been happening in the area since the military began testing U-2 CIA spy planes in 1955, around the time reports of U.F.O. sightings started to come out — but that news has done little to quell the otherworldly theories that have long surrounded the enigmatic site.
Here’s everything to know about the history of Area 51, and why more than a million people want to “see them aliens.”
What is Area 51?
Area 51, officially named the Nevada Test and Training Range at Groom Lake, is a high-security open training range for the U.S. Air Force in southern Nevada — though the site is still very secretive.
The public found out that Area 51 officially existed in August 2013 after Dr. Jeffrey T. Richelson, a senior fellow at the George Washington University National Security Archive, submitted a Freedom of Information Act Request in 2005 for information on the CIA’s Lockheed U-2 plane reconnaissance program, the secret construction and testing of spy planes used to gather intelligence.
The request forced the CIA to declassify documents on the history of the U-2 and A-12 OXCART program and the military base where the planes were constructed and tested — Area 51.
There certainly was — as you would expect — no discussion of little green men here,” Richelson, who died in 2017, told The New York Times in 2013. “This is a history of the U-2. The only overlap is the discussion of the U-2 flights and U.F.O. sightings, the fact that you had these high-flying aircraft in the air being the cause of some of the sightings.”
Malcolm Byrne, Deputy Director and Director of Research at the National Security Archive, tells TIME that Richelson essentially solved the mystery surrounding Area 51 indirectly. “I don’t think Richelson was going after Area 51 specifically, it’s just that as often happens in these things, there’s serendipity and so material gets released that has things of interest for other people.”
What is the proposed “raid”?
In a pinned post on Facebook event’s page, Jackson Barns, who says he created the joke event, details his tongue-in-cheek plan to invade Area 51. It involves Monster energy drinks, “Kyles” (the internet name for white men and boys who have anger issues and punch drywall) and Naruto-running, inspired by a Japanese anime show.
Then the Rock Throwers will throw pebbles at the inevitable resistance (we don’t want to hurt them, we just want to annoy them enough to not shoot the kyles as often),” Barns writes, before making it clear that he does not advocate this plan actually coming to fruition. “P.S. Hello US government, this is a joke, and I do not actually intend to go ahead with this plan. I just thought it would be funny and get me some thumbsy uppies on the internet.”
So far, 1.5 million people from all over the world have signed on to join the “raid,” and the event has inspired a mega-viral meme. Even rapper Lil Nas X released a new music video for his hit “Old Town Road” that features cowboys raiding Area 51.
How has the government responded to the raid?
A spokesperson for the U.S. Air Force told several media outlets that they are aware of the plans to “raid” Area 51 — and are staunchly against them.
Any attempt to illegally access the area is highly discouraged,” an Air Force spokesperson told NPR in a Monday statement, along with several other media outlets.
“[Area 51] is an open training range for the U.S. Air Force, and we would discourage anyone from trying to come into the area where we train American armed forces,” Air Force spokeswoman Laura McAndrews told The Washington Post. “The U.S. Air Force always stands ready to protect America and its assets.”
Why has Area 51 become the subject of so many conspiracy theories?
When Sgt. Anderson told the Reno Evening Gazette (now known as the Reno Gazette-Journal) about spotting a U.F.O. back in 1959, the outlet also reported that the Nellis Air Force Base, located about 130 miles south of Area 51, had received two previous reports in the past three weeks of U.F.O. sightings.Those reports came just a few years after rumors of a U.F.O. crashing in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947, which the Roswell Army Air Field later said was a weather balloon. The Air Force began investigating claims of U.F.O. sightings in 1947, which later became known as Project Blue Book in 1952. By the time Project Blue Book ended in 1969, the Air Force had investigated over 12,000 claims.Meanwhile, people in the southern Nevada region continued to report U.F.O. sightings, which in hindsight were probably sightings of the top-secret spy planes being constructed. Even so, imaginations have run wild ever since.
Area 51 references have also seeped into pop culture, making appearances in movies like Independence Day and Paul.
It has also inspired episodes of The Twilight Zone and The X-Files, as well as the slightly less iconic straight-to-video film Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders.
Area 51 is synonymous with tales of UFOs, government cover-ups and potentially testing alien technology.
Located at Groom Lake in the middle of the barren desert of southern Nevada, Area 51 is a U.S Air Force installation that has become infamous for a speculated connection with unidentified flying objects (UFOs).
Conspiracy theories surrounding the base suggest that it is used for the testing of alien technology recovered from supposed crash sites, like the famous one in Roswell, New Mexico(opens in new tab). This has been fueled by the fact that the base was a secret for many years and is still inaccessible to the general public.
As a result, this innocuous-looking military installation has become an intrinsic part of the modern mythology and urban legends of the 20th century, with a large influence on media and pop culture.
Area 51 is located 120 miles (200 kilometers) northwest of Las Vegas, near the small towns of Rachel and Hiko. The title "Area 51" seems to come from the designation the base had on Atomic Energy Commission(opens in new tab) maps, with this name sticking in the mind of the public but mostly unused by the military.
Established in 1955 as part of the Nevada Test and Training Range complex, the area was also given the name "Paradise Ranch" in an attempt by aerospace company Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin) to draw employees to the base.
Today, the base and the wider Nevada Test and Training Range complex are part of the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), with the CIA referring to it as the Groom Lake and Homey Airport. Though satellite imagery of the site had been restricted, since 2018 the base has been visible on Google Maps.
Area 51 is situated 120 miles (200 kilometers) northwest of Las Vegas, near the small towns of Rachel and Hiko.
Benjamin Radford is an American folklorist, writer, investigator and skeptic who's authored more than 20 books, including "Scientific Paranormal Investigation: How to Solve Unexplained Mysteries;" "Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction and Folklore;" and "Mysterious New Mexico: Miracles, Magic, and Monsters in the Land of Enchantment." He's also deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirer magazine and has written several articles regarding the conspiracy theories surrounding Area 51.
"The base itself is fairly small, but the restricted area around it is over 90,000 acres [36,000 hectares] — partly to prevent prying eyes and partly because they need to test classified aircraft," Radford told Space.com. "It's mostly conspiracy theorists and media who call it Area 51. To the U.S. government, it's simply the Nevada Test and Training Range, part of Edwards Air Force Base."
The U.S military finally acknowledged the existence of Area 51 in 2013 after a formerly classified CIA document detailing the history of the U-2 spy plane was obtained by the National Security Archive at George Washington University(opens in new tab).
But that acknowledgment doesn't mean that a visit to the base is advisable. Radford said that there are still legitimate government and military reasons for keeping the base's activities secret.
"The military classifies Area 51 as a 'Military Operating Area.' On the ground, you'll encounter stern signs and armed guards patrolling the fenced perimeters guarded by buried motion sensors, cameras, guards and so on — plus signs warning that deadly force is authorized," Radford explained. "The borders of Area 51 are not fenced but are marked with orange poles and warning signs."
Such signs tell visitors that photos aren't allowed and that trespassing on the property will result in a fine, he added.
The restricted area ar Area 51's covers over 90,000 acres (36,000 hectares)
Originally used as a testing site for the U-2 spy plane, the base would go on to be used for the testing of other well-known aircraft such as the Archangel-12, the SR-71 Blackbird and the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter.
The testing of new and secretive military aircraft is likely responsible for much of the connection between Area 51 and UFOs, especially when considering that the term "UFO" doesn't directly refer to alien spacecraft, despite how it is often perceived in pop culture.
"It's true that strange lights and aircraft can sometimes be spotted in the area, so it's an obvious leap to UFOs, but of course, new aircraft might look identical," Radford explained. "The basic, flawed premise behind the Area 51 mythology can be boiled down to this: The government won't reveal what's going on there, so it must be something ultra-super-amazingly secret."
What we call Area 51, he added, is only one of many military bases, national laboratories and government scientific research centers across the country that deal with classified — even Top Secret — information, and where workers and visitors need security clearances.
Aside from the sightings of strange craft, Area 51 mythology was enforced in 1989 when a man named Robert Lazar claimed that he worked on extraterrestrial technology inside the base.
television reporter George Knapp that he had viewed autopsy photographs of aliens inside Area 51 and that the US government used the facility to examine recovered alien spacecraft. Lazar himself was discredited, but his claims resulted in numerous government conspiracy theories, most of which involve extraterrestrial life.
Area 51 Pictures, Images and Stock Photos
Hiko, Nevada - October 21, 2019: Replica of the U.S. Air Force...
Area 51 sign
An old rusted looking Area 51 warning sign
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Low angle view of a lonely road in Nevada
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The history behind how Area 51 became the center of alien conspiracy theoriesArea 51 has been the focal point of alien conspiracy theories in America for decadesThe remote military base in the Nevada desert has a lot of history, and has been associated with aliens almost since its inception. In 1954, President Eisenhower authorized the development of a top secret, high-altitude recon aircraft program. It required a remote location that wasn't easily accessible to civilians or spies and Area 51 fit the bill perfectly.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.In the early 1950s, US planes were conducting low-flying recon missions over the USSR. But there were constant worries of them being spotted and shot downSo … in 1954, President Eisenhower authorized the development of a top secret, high-altitude recon aircraft dubbed Project Aquatone. The program required a remote location that wasn't easily accessible to civilians or spies. Area 51 fit the bill perfectly.It was in the Nevada desert near a salt flat called Groom Lake. No one knows exactly why it's called Area 51, but one theory suggests it came from its proximity to the Nevada Nuclear Test Sites. The Nevada Test Site was divided into number-designated areas by the Atomic Energy Commission. The location was already familiar territory for the military, as it had served as a World War II aerial gunnery range.In the summer of 1955, sightings of "unidentified flying objects" were reported around Area 51. That's because the Air Force had begun its testing of the U-2 aircraft. The U-2 can fly higher than 60,000 feet. At the time, normal airliners were flying in the 10,000 to 20,000 feet range. While military aircraft topped out around 40,000 feet. So if a pilot spotted the tiny speck that was the U-2 high above it, they would have no idea what it was. And they would usually let air traffic control know someone was out there. Which is what led to the increase of UFO sightings in the area. While Air Force officials knew the UFO sightings were U-2 tests, they couldn't really tell the public. So they explained the aircraft sightings by saying they were "natural phenomena" and "high-altitude weather research."The testing of the U-2 ended in the late 1950s; but, Area 51 has continued to serve as the testing ground for many aircraft, including the F-117A, A-12, and TACIT BLUE.No one knows for sure what Area 51 is up to these days. The government never even publicly acknowledged the existence of the base until 2013, with the release of declassified CIA reports. But if you're ever at the Las Vegas airport, keep an eye out for some small, unmarked, passenger planes in a fenced-off area. They're how Area 51 employees get to work from their homes in Vegas.I ‘stormed’ Area 51 and it was even weirder than I imaginedNo one had any idea what to expect of a plan for people to meet in Rachel, Nevada, to see for themselves if the government was hiding aliensIn the middle of the Nevadan desert, outside a secretive US military airstrip, I found the world’s strangest social media convention.
Dozens of young, good-looking, often costumed people were running around filming each other with semi-professional video rigs. They were YouTube and Instagram stars – or, more often, aspiring stars – here to “storm” Area 51 for the benefit of their followers and free the aliens held captive within. Or at least film themselves talking about it.Joining them was a ragged army of hundreds of stoners, UFO buffs, punk bands, rubberneckers, European tourists, people with way too much time on their hands, and meme-lords in Pepe the Frog costumes – all here because of the Internet, the ironic and the earnest alike, for a party at the end of the earth.
Three months earlier, on 20 June 2019, the podcaster Joe Rogan released an interview with Bob Lazar. Lazar is a cult figure in UFO circles; he claims to have studied flying saucers at Area 51, the classified air force base in Nevada where the US government is rumored – by some – to make secret contact with extraterrestrial beings.One of those listeners was Matty Roberts, a college student, anime enthusiast and video gamer in Bakersfield, California. Inspired by the Rogan podcast, Roberts created a joke Facebook event: “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us.” According to the plan, people would meet in Rachel, Nevada – the closest town to Area 51 – in the early morning of 20 September, then swarm the defenses and see for themselves if the government was hiding aliens.Things snowballed. Within hours, the page had thousands of RSVPs. Within days it had more than a million. The air force warned that things would end badly for anyone attempting a raid. The FBI paid the hapless Matty Roberts a house call.
So he came up with a brilliant pivot: why not channel this momentum into a Burning Man-style music festival in the desert? He joined forces with Connie West, the operator of Rachel’s sole inn and restaurant, to plan what they called Alienstock.
Then came the first schism. Scornful of the internet interlopers, the Alien Research Center in nearby Hiko, Nevada, decided to host its own Area 51 event the same weekend – for serious ufologists.
Roberts and West pressed on. But the town of Rachel (population: 54) lacked the infrastructure to handle thousands of conspiracy theorists and gawkers descending on rural Nevada. The local authorities feared potential calamity: people dying of dehydration in the desert, angry landowners, madmen with guns.
On 10 September, nine days before the event, Roberts backed out. He wanted no involvement in a “Fyre Fest 2.0”, he told the media. He accused West of being insufficiently prepared for the coming flood. Budweiser offered to sponsor a free, alternative Alienstock event in a “safe, clean” venue in downtown Las Vegas. Roberts urged people to go there instead.
West refused to cancel the concert in the desert. She’d already sunk thousands of dollars of her own money into the event, she told reporters as she held back tears. Alienstock would happen, she said, whether anyone liked it or not.
Now there were three rival events all happening on the same weekend – one in Las Vegas, another in Rachel and a third in Hiko. No one had any idea how many people were coming.
I came equipped with a duffel bag of Hawaiian shirts and a case of vape cartridges, which I hoped to use as currency in the event of civilizational collapse in the desert.
But the desert would wait. The “Area 51 Celebration” in downtown Las Vegas did not get off to a promising start. When I arrived, shortly after 7pm, the outdoor venue – heavily bedecked with glowing neon alien signage – was mostly empty except for cops and local newscasters. A DJ blasted dubstep to a bare dancefloor. The venue even had a swimming pool, bathed in green light and watched by a bored-looking lifeguard.I feared it might be a long night. I ordered a whiskey-and-water; the bartender filled a plastic stadium cup to the brim.
Then people started trickling in. Everyone was wearing their best alien-themed rave attire: one woman wore a shiny, and discomfitingly rubbery, head-to-toe alien costume. Another had a Rick-and-Morty-patterned dress. Three men tore up the dancefloor in matching alien-motif onesies. Someone carried a sign that said GREEN LIVES MATTER.I talked to two people who’d driven six hours from Tucson, Arizona, on a whim to attend. One was wearing a Flat Earth Society T-shirt, though he said it was ironic.The next morning I got in my rental car and headed north.
The outskirts of Las Vegas – casinos, strip clubs, endless billboards for personal injury lawyers – dropped away rapidly. Now there was just desert in every direction, stunning in its vastness and austere beauty. Mountains towered over the highway, surrounded by hilly plains of cacti and scrub.
Soon most human settlement was gone. There was nothing alongside the highway – no strip malls, no fast food joints, and, I noticed, worryingly few gas stations. I had at least two hours of driving ahead, though I knew I was going in the right direction: every vehicle I saw was a police car, an RV or a news satellite van.
As I drove I listened to rightwing talk radio, then Top 40, then country, then a Bible discussion call-in show, then some Spanish-language stations, then static. A talk station interviewed the mother of a police officer killed by an undocumented immigrant. Sean Hannity made fun of the climate strike, and every talkshow discussed the New York Times’ recent, partly retracted accusation against Brett Kavanaugh. It was, they pointed out, yet another sign of bias in the liberal media.
I spied Matty Roberts in the center of a swirling mass of people, holding court. He was wearing a Slayer hat and black T-shirt; his long, dark hair flowed majestically down his back. He looked like a heavy metal-listening, Mountain Dew-drinking samurai lord, surrounded by courtiers and supplicants. I fought my way over.
He was in high spirits. “I’m absolutely amazed at how things turned out, and it’s incredible,” he told me as he signed autographs. I opened my mouth to ask a follow-up question but he was swallowed up again by the crowd.
By around 9pm, there were a couple hundred people jerking spasmodically to dubstep.
A woman who introduced herself as Shereel (“C-H-E-R-Y-L”) said she was happy to be at the rave but disappointed she couldn’t make the event in the desert.
“This is the first time since Roswell that people like us are all coming together,” she said. “Even if nothing happens, we tried.”
The DJ interrupted his set to thank Matty Roberts and give a “special shout-out” to Bob Lazar. The crowd cheered.
A warm wind was whipping through the arena. As the wind buffeted us and the rave lights flickered overhead, you could almost believe a UFO really was about to descend.The US government owns thousands of square miles of land in northern Nevada. The area is big enough, and empty enough, to detonate a nuclear bomb – which the government has, on hundreds of occasions.
The “Groom Lake airfield” – Area 51 – is part of a massive complex of military installations. Their activities are classified and the skies above are restricted air space. Little is known about what goes on there, though the air force tests experimental stealth aircraft, which may account for some UFO sightings.
Of course, military pilots are themselves known to report seeing what they refer to as “unexplained aerial phenomena”. (Even the New York Times has reported on it.)
In the 2000s, Congress established an “advanced aviation threat identification program” to study the problem. The program wasn’t classified, but it “operated with the knowledge of an extremely limited number of officials”, according to Politico. The then Nevada senator Harry Reid helped secure the funding.
That’s the end of the history lesson. The reader is free to investigate further and come to their own conclusions.
On the way to Rachel, I stopped at the rival festival at the Alien Research Center in Hiko. It was heavy on souvenir sellers, though there were some hardcore ufologists. A group called the Mutual UFO Network (Mufon) gave me a pamphlet offering certification to be a “field investigator”.
If anything, the ufologists were more the exception than the rule. I had expected most Area 51 Stormers to be conspiracy theorists, 4chan types, or people on the fringe political spectrum, but a lot – probably most – were normies on a lark, or foreigners in search of peak Americana.
Two young men – one Swiss German, the other Japanese – told me they were friends who’d met at an English as a second language program in New York. A group of Britons told me they’d been taking a road trip up the west coast, heard about the Area 51 business, and decided to take a detour.
This was a common theme: “Well, I’d been thinking about taking a road trip anyway, sooo…”
When my car turned the last switchback into the valley toward Area 51, the car radio, theretofore static, suddenly started blasting Smetana’s Má Vlast in eerie, crystal-perfect sound. The aliens, it seemed, were classical music buffs.
Rachel came into view – a tiny, one-horse town besieged by cars and tents and camper vans. Including the cops, EMTs, festival organizers, and so on, there looked to be a couple thousand people – not the two million who had RSVP’d to the Facebook event, nor the 30,000 the sheriff feared, but more than I thought would follow through.
Contrary to the wild warnings about a Fyre festival 2.0, things appeared mostly under control. Festival marshals waved me along to an assigned lot.
My neighbors at the parking lot-slash-campsite were a punk band called Foreign Life Form. They weren’t part of the planned music lineup, one Life Form explained as he ate Chef Boyardee room-temperature from a can, but when they heard about Alienstock, it seemed like fate. They were trying to find the concert organizer to get added to the billing. To help seal the deal they’d painted their faces and arms green.My other neighbor, an erudite, joint-smoking history podcaster from Oregon, wore a T-shirt that said “Take me to your dealer”. He and his son had had the shirts custom-made; the Life Forms were disappointed they couldn’t buy some.
Getting to the actual entrance to Area 51 took another 20 minutes of driving on an unmarked, unpaved road. Clouds of chalk billowed behind the cars coming and going.
At the end of the road was a drab military checkpoint flanked by concertina wire and threatening signs. The sign prohibiting photography was clearly a dead letter.
Rotating shifts of law enforcement officers of every variety – sheriff’s deputies, state troopers, game wardens, park rangers – kept a watchful eye on everything. They seemed relaxed, though, and looked like they were having as good a time as the ostensible Stormers. After all, this was an excuse for them to hang out at Area 51, too.
(To my knowledge, no one actually raided Area 51, besides the two Dutch YouTubers who had tried to sneak through the perimeter two weeks earlier and ended up in jail instead.)
In addition to YouTube vloggers and Instagram influencers, there were more than a few actual journalists. Watching them scurry around diligently with tape recorders reminded me that I needed to find a Quirky Character who could give On-Scene Color. A talkative UFO buff would be ideal but the other journalists had already claimed most of the good ones.
I couldn’t avoid noticing a pair of men in huge, papier-mache Pepe the Frog heads. The vloggers loved them, and the Pepes enjoyed mugging for the cameras. “My God,” a girl said, “they’re adorable.”
Under their frog heads, the Pepes were two young Latino guys from California. When I asked them what they thought of the frog’s association with the alt-right, one seemed confused. The other nodded in recognition but claimed he just thought the symbol was fun.
He said, “It’s all about the –
“Memes,” finished the other. They both laughed.
I asked if it wasn’t weird for them, as Latinos, to embrace a symbol affiliated with white nationalists.
“Yeah, I mean, they’re a little, like, extreme for me sometimes,” one said. “But sometimes you feel like they’re right about some stuff.”
I said, “Like what?”
“Like clown world.”
“What?”
“Clown world.”
“What?”
“Like the idea that we’re all living in a world of clowns,” he clarified.
Tendrils of fog hung over Alienstock. The temperature was dropping fast and the sun was low and pink in the sky. The sunset was sublime but I had a long drive to my motel ahead and a sick feeling that I should have left half an hour ago.
I bade farewell to the history podcaster. He reminded me that the area was open grazing land. “Watch out for the steer,” he said. “They go right out into the road.”
The next morning I debated whether to squeeze in another trip out to Alienstock and couldn’t quite find the willpower. It was time to get back to civilization, I decided. Or at least Las Vegas.
I stopped at the gas station in Alamo, near Rachel. The town felt hungover, and it still had a day to go. Most of the locals seemed unsure quite how to feel about the whole thing. It was a boon to the local economy, yes, but also a financial disaster for the county government. There were rumors that the district attorney was planning to sue Connie West, or Matty Roberts, or even Facebook.
Most, though, just seemed excited at the idea that their corner of the world might become something bigger than a gas stop on the way elsewhere.
Everyone vowed that next year, they’d be ready.
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The Secret's Out: Obama Acknowledges Existence Of Area 51
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The Secret's Out: Obama Acknowledges Existence Of Area 51
The Extraterrestrial Highway, so named because of reports of UFO activity along the road, runs along the eastern border of the top-secret Area 51 base in Nevada.
LAURA RAUCH/AP
At one time, Area 51 was one of the most famous military installations in the world — a place widely talked about, yet so secret that the U.S. government refused to confirm its existence.
That's why President Obama's reference to the southern Nevada base Sunday raised eyebrows. It marked the first time a U.S. commander in chief has publicly acknowledged the facility that fueled countless conspiracy theories.
Obama used the annual Kennedy Center Honors ceremony to crack a joke at the expense of actor Shirley MacLaine, one of the five award recipients, who has claimed to have seen UFOs on several occasions.
"Now, when you first become president, one of the questions that people ask you is, 'What's really going on in Area 51?' " Obama said. "When I wanted to know, I'd call Shirley MacLaine. I think I just became the first president to ever publicly mention Area 51. How's that, Shirley?"
Conspiracy theorists have been obsessed with Area 51 for decades, claming — among other things — the government is holding aliens and crashed UFOs there.
The 1996 blockbuster movie "Independence Day" cemented that notion in popular culture by depicting it as a highly secure repository for extraterrestrial beings and alien spacecraft.
A year earlier, President Bill Clinton had added to the mystery surrounding the facility by issuing a presidential determination declaring the site exempt from environmental disclosure laws following a lawsuit. Yet the document never actually referred to Area 51 — rather, it specified "the Air Force's operating location near Groom Lake, Nevada."
It wasn't until last August that the CIA confirmed the existence of Area 51, officially known as the Nevada Test and Training Range and Groom Lake.
The newly released documents said the site served as a testing ground for aerial surveillance programs, such as the U-2 spy plane first used during the Cold War.
No mention of aliens or flying saucers, though.
Obama asked officials about the existence of aliens as US president. What did they tell him?
Obama asked officials about the existence of aliens as US president. What did they tell him?
Obama asked officials about the existence of aliens as US president. What did they tell him?
Turns out, former US President Barack Obama had sought knowledge of aliens, and reached out to his officials to find out how much they know about aliens
It has been long believed that the United States has first hand access to aliens, and that they constitute part of the secrets that lie in Area 51, a highly classified US Air Force Facility in Nevada.
Turns out, former US President Barack Obama had sought knowledge of aliens, and reached out to his officials to find out how much they know about aliens. Did he receive an answer? Yes. Is Obama willing to share details about extraterrestrial secrets with the rest of us? Unfortunately, no.
Appearing on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert this week, Obama was asked by Colbert about the kind of classified information he sought during his presidency.
Also read: Could artificial intelligence trick us into believing aliens exist? Scientists think so
Obama confirmed to Colbert that he asked officials about aliens, but to no avail, as the rest of us will never find out.
On the topic of UFOs Obama said - “Certainly asked about it”.
When Colbert pressed him for more details with a hungry “And?”, he responded with “Can’t tell you”, and followed with a “sorry”. In short, Obama knows something that we don’t. But will he tell us? Most probably not.
Colbert also processed his response along similar lines. “I’ll take that as a yes”, he said to Obama, while adding that if there were no aliens, he would have said that there were none.
In classic Obama style, he topped off the alien conversation with “Feel free to think that”. Earlier, former US President Bill Clinton had told Jimmy Kimmel that he wouldn’t be surprised if aliens existed.
Clinton also said that he had looked into Area 51 and details of what it harboured, and concluded that there were no aliens on the airbase.
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