1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:03,333 NARRATOR: Mysterious orbs of light 2 00:00:03,375 --> 00:00:05,875 reported all over the world. 3 00:00:05,958 --> 00:00:11,458 Enormous cylindrical objects hovering high above the Earth. 4 00:00:11,542 --> 00:00:17,042 And massive triangular craft that appear out of thin air. 5 00:00:17,167 --> 00:00:18,875 Throughout history, 6 00:00:18,875 --> 00:00:22,750 people have witnessed objects of all shapes and sizes 7 00:00:22,833 --> 00:00:24,375 up in the sky. 8 00:00:25,417 --> 00:00:27,583 Now, we're going to take a look back 9 00:00:27,708 --> 00:00:29,958 at the top ten examples 10 00:00:30,042 --> 00:00:32,625 of what ancient astronaut theorists suggest 11 00:00:32,708 --> 00:00:35,875 are, in fact, alien craft-- 12 00:00:35,958 --> 00:00:38,292 craft that just may hold the proof 13 00:00:38,375 --> 00:00:43,625 that Earth has been visited by extraterrestrials. 14 00:00:43,708 --> 00:00:45,625 ♪ 15 00:00:51,208 --> 00:00:52,750 People love to tell me about 16 00:00:52,833 --> 00:00:55,125 their favorite UFO sightings, 17 00:00:55,208 --> 00:00:57,833 and some of them are pretty astonishing. 18 00:00:57,917 --> 00:00:59,667 But you may be surprised to hear 19 00:00:59,708 --> 00:01:03,125 that many of the flying craft that we're seeing today 20 00:01:03,208 --> 00:01:06,917 may have also been seen thousands of years ago. 21 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,625 This countdown takes a look at the various types of objects 22 00:01:10,708 --> 00:01:13,875 that have been witnessed in the sky again and again. 23 00:01:14,583 --> 00:01:18,667 At number ten on our list of the top ten alien craft-- 24 00:01:18,708 --> 00:01:20,500 the Flying V. 25 00:01:25,208 --> 00:01:27,750 NARRATOR: Kent, New York. 26 00:01:27,833 --> 00:01:31,042 New Year's Eve, 1982. 27 00:01:31,167 --> 00:01:33,417 A group of partygoers spots 28 00:01:33,500 --> 00:01:36,583 a gigantic V-shaped craft overhead 29 00:01:36,667 --> 00:01:40,208 with red, white, and green lights. 30 00:01:40,333 --> 00:01:42,958 The colors suddenly vanish, 31 00:01:43,042 --> 00:01:45,333 and then the object illuminates the ground 32 00:01:45,417 --> 00:01:47,292 with a blinding white light. 33 00:01:48,708 --> 00:01:50,500 Over the next few months, 34 00:01:50,583 --> 00:01:55,125 Hudson Valley authorities are bombarded with similar reports. 35 00:01:56,208 --> 00:01:58,333 PHILIP IMBROGNO: Usually, UFOs just appear 36 00:01:58,375 --> 00:02:02,333 to a small number of people, and they disappear. 37 00:02:02,375 --> 00:02:06,083 In this case, people were stopped on the highways. 38 00:02:06,167 --> 00:02:07,958 People were running out of their houses 39 00:02:08,042 --> 00:02:10,958 watching this enormous object pass over, 40 00:02:11,042 --> 00:02:12,833 the size of a football field. 41 00:02:14,375 --> 00:02:18,125 DAVID CHILDRESS: It's estimated that as many as 5,000 people 42 00:02:18,208 --> 00:02:22,750 called in and made reports of this giant V. 43 00:02:22,833 --> 00:02:26,250 And the witnesses said that this flying triangle 44 00:02:26,333 --> 00:02:27,667 was completely silent. 45 00:02:27,750 --> 00:02:31,875 And that it was flying very slowly, if at all, 46 00:02:31,875 --> 00:02:33,375 and was often just hovering 47 00:02:33,458 --> 00:02:36,417 right in place and then would slowly turn, 48 00:02:36,500 --> 00:02:38,792 and then ultimately fly off in another direction. 49 00:02:41,292 --> 00:02:43,083 So that these were not some 50 00:02:43,167 --> 00:02:45,042 hoaxers with their airplanes 51 00:02:45,125 --> 00:02:46,375 flying in formation, 52 00:02:46,458 --> 00:02:48,167 but something completely different. 53 00:02:49,250 --> 00:02:53,292 NARRATOR: The sightings of large V-shaped craft in Upstate New York 54 00:02:53,375 --> 00:02:56,125 made headlines in The New York Times. 55 00:02:57,167 --> 00:02:59,458 Then, in 1997, 56 00:02:59,542 --> 00:03:03,917 an identical craft was spotted in Phoenix, Arizona. 57 00:03:05,375 --> 00:03:08,667 RICHARD DOLAN: It was a triangular-ish shaped object 58 00:03:08,708 --> 00:03:10,125 seen very reliably by 59 00:03:10,208 --> 00:03:12,500 quite a large number of witnesses, including 60 00:03:12,583 --> 00:03:15,000 the governor of the state at the time, Fife Symington, 61 00:03:15,083 --> 00:03:19,583 who was a qualified pilot and in the Air Force Reserve as well. 62 00:03:19,583 --> 00:03:22,667 As a pilot and a former Air Force officer, 63 00:03:22,750 --> 00:03:25,458 I can definitively say that this craft did not resemble 64 00:03:25,542 --> 00:03:27,625 any man-made object that I'd ever seen. 65 00:03:30,208 --> 00:03:33,333 NARRATOR: While the V-shaped craft flying over the Hudson Valley 66 00:03:33,417 --> 00:03:35,958 and Phoenix are the most well-documented 67 00:03:36,042 --> 00:03:40,458 mass UFO sightings in history, they are far from the first. 68 00:03:41,500 --> 00:03:45,375 More than 400 years ago, in 1561, 69 00:03:45,500 --> 00:03:49,333 the citizens of the Bavarian city of Nuremberg 70 00:03:49,417 --> 00:03:50,917 reported a commotion in the sky 71 00:03:50,917 --> 00:03:53,167 that was unlike anything 72 00:03:53,250 --> 00:03:55,833 they had ever experienced before. 73 00:03:55,917 --> 00:03:58,583 People went outside and they saw 74 00:03:58,708 --> 00:04:01,208 what they described as a celestial battle. 75 00:04:02,292 --> 00:04:04,292 The witnesses observed seeing hundreds 76 00:04:04,375 --> 00:04:06,542 of these strange-shaped objects. 77 00:04:06,667 --> 00:04:09,583 What were these strange shapes that they were describing? 78 00:04:10,667 --> 00:04:13,625 NARRATOR: The aerial scene, illustrated in a woodcut, 79 00:04:13,708 --> 00:04:16,125 is described in the accompanying text 80 00:04:16,208 --> 00:04:18,583 as "a very frightful spectacle." 81 00:04:19,667 --> 00:04:23,208 A large, black, V-shaped object appeared in the sky 82 00:04:23,292 --> 00:04:25,583 and seemed to launch projectiles 83 00:04:25,667 --> 00:04:28,833 as onlookers below watched in amazement. 84 00:04:28,875 --> 00:04:32,667 This was actually witnessed by thousands of people. 85 00:04:32,750 --> 00:04:37,042 Had it been a meteor shower or something like this, 86 00:04:37,125 --> 00:04:38,708 then the reports would have been, 87 00:04:38,792 --> 00:04:42,208 "Okay, this happened before because we've seen this before," 88 00:04:42,292 --> 00:04:43,667 but that was new. 89 00:04:44,708 --> 00:04:47,000 HENRY: The witnesses wouldn't have had a conception of 90 00:04:47,042 --> 00:04:49,333 some kind of a mechanical spacecraft. 91 00:04:49,417 --> 00:04:52,750 But that seems to be exactly what they were describing. 92 00:04:52,833 --> 00:04:56,292 And this has to be one of the greatest mass sightings 93 00:04:56,375 --> 00:04:59,750 of a UFO phenomena in all of recorded history. 94 00:05:00,917 --> 00:05:03,167 To me, there is no doubt 95 00:05:03,208 --> 00:05:06,333 that the people of Nuremberg witnessed an alien craft-- 96 00:05:06,375 --> 00:05:08,375 they just didn't have the language 97 00:05:08,542 --> 00:05:11,500 to accurately describe what they saw. 98 00:05:11,583 --> 00:05:13,833 But that should come as no surprise, 99 00:05:13,875 --> 00:05:17,542 because even today, strange objects are seen 100 00:05:17,625 --> 00:05:20,958 in our skies that defy explanation. 101 00:05:22,250 --> 00:05:24,833 Like the number nine entry on our countdown-- 102 00:05:24,917 --> 00:05:26,833 Orbs of Light. 103 00:05:26,917 --> 00:05:28,875 ♪ 104 00:05:34,042 --> 00:05:40,167 U.S. Navy pilots with the 415th Night Fighter Squadron 105 00:05:40,208 --> 00:05:41,792 report seeing "eight to ten 106 00:05:41,875 --> 00:05:44,333 "bright orange lights off the left wing 107 00:05:44,375 --> 00:05:46,917 flying through the air at high speed." 108 00:05:48,375 --> 00:05:50,875 Neither the radar operator in the air 109 00:05:50,958 --> 00:05:52,500 nor ground control 110 00:05:52,542 --> 00:05:54,500 could identify anything in the area 111 00:05:54,583 --> 00:05:56,042 that fit their description. 112 00:05:57,208 --> 00:06:01,250 The strange orbs of light are observed by hundreds of both 113 00:06:01,375 --> 00:06:05,000 Axis and Ally pilots all over Europe and Asia 114 00:06:05,083 --> 00:06:09,333 throughout the war and become known as "foo fighters." 115 00:06:10,583 --> 00:06:12,167 AMY SHIRA TEITEL: Foo fighters were first seen 116 00:06:12,208 --> 00:06:13,667 in the Second World War 117 00:06:13,792 --> 00:06:16,667 by pilots flying not actually that high off the ground, 118 00:06:16,750 --> 00:06:18,750 between 800 or 10,000 feet. 119 00:06:20,250 --> 00:06:22,000 Usually pilots were flying at night 120 00:06:22,125 --> 00:06:27,458 and they reported seeing lights in formation on the horizon. 121 00:06:27,542 --> 00:06:30,333 They would be moving together or flashing, 122 00:06:30,458 --> 00:06:33,583 kind of tracking them for a bit, 123 00:06:33,667 --> 00:06:36,292 and then it would disappear as soon as it came. 124 00:06:36,375 --> 00:06:38,625 BILL BIRNES: They were called "foo fighters" 125 00:06:38,708 --> 00:06:41,000 after French feu, meaning "fire," 126 00:06:41,083 --> 00:06:42,542 'cause they were flaming balls. 127 00:06:44,208 --> 00:06:46,333 In 1945, 128 00:06:46,417 --> 00:06:50,000 a B-29 bomber, over the South Pacific, 129 00:06:50,083 --> 00:06:52,750 saw a foo fighter off its wing. 130 00:06:54,708 --> 00:06:57,417 B-29s were very heavily armed. 131 00:06:57,417 --> 00:07:00,042 It trained its machine guns on the device, 132 00:07:00,125 --> 00:07:01,500 fired on it, 133 00:07:01,583 --> 00:07:04,375 and the foo fighter blew up into a million pieces. 134 00:07:04,458 --> 00:07:09,125 That story was covered in TIME magazine. 135 00:07:09,208 --> 00:07:11,833 Whatever they were... 136 00:07:11,917 --> 00:07:14,333 they disappeared and have now gone into legend. 137 00:07:14,417 --> 00:07:18,167 NARRATOR: While reports of encounters with foo fighters ended 138 00:07:18,250 --> 00:07:20,333 after World War II, 139 00:07:20,375 --> 00:07:23,375 mysterious orbs of light have been reported 140 00:07:23,458 --> 00:07:25,792 hovering around military testing sites, 141 00:07:25,875 --> 00:07:28,250 nuclear plants, 142 00:07:28,375 --> 00:07:30,542 and even crop circles. 143 00:07:30,625 --> 00:07:34,167 But what they are remains a mystery. 144 00:07:34,208 --> 00:07:36,458 Foo fighters exhibited 145 00:07:36,542 --> 00:07:37,667 performance characteristics 146 00:07:37,708 --> 00:07:39,917 beyond any other aircraft 147 00:07:40,042 --> 00:07:41,667 in the skies at the time. 148 00:07:43,875 --> 00:07:47,167 There were pilots that, uh, reported foo fighters 149 00:07:47,208 --> 00:07:49,333 traveling at unimaginable speeds. 150 00:07:49,417 --> 00:07:53,667 That were capable of maneuvering 151 00:07:53,708 --> 00:07:57,208 in the air in ways that no other aircraft could do. 152 00:07:58,750 --> 00:08:00,667 MICHIO KAKU: These are hypersonic devices. 153 00:08:00,708 --> 00:08:02,667 They can also zigzag, 154 00:08:02,750 --> 00:08:05,125 and the amount of zigzagging is so great 155 00:08:05,208 --> 00:08:08,500 that the gravitational forces inside these objects 156 00:08:08,542 --> 00:08:10,625 as they jerk through space and time 157 00:08:10,625 --> 00:08:14,875 would crush any living individual. 158 00:08:14,958 --> 00:08:17,750 In my opinion, whatever these objects are, 159 00:08:17,833 --> 00:08:20,250 they're guided either by remote control 160 00:08:20,375 --> 00:08:23,250 or by an autonomous cybernetic system. 161 00:08:24,292 --> 00:08:28,500 NARRATOR: Are the mysterious orbs of light encountered around the world 162 00:08:28,542 --> 00:08:32,083 a type of extraterrestrial spacecraft? 163 00:08:33,250 --> 00:08:36,333 Ancient astronaut theorists say yes, 164 00:08:36,458 --> 00:08:38,667 and suggest further evidence 165 00:08:38,708 --> 00:08:41,417 that alien craft are visiting our planet 166 00:08:41,500 --> 00:08:42,542 can be found hidden 167 00:08:42,625 --> 00:08:44,958 in the jungles of Mexico. 168 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:51,208 On January 5, 2000, 169 00:08:51,292 --> 00:08:53,375 dozens of people in Illinois 170 00:08:53,500 --> 00:08:55,500 witnessed a mysterious craft 171 00:08:55,625 --> 00:08:57,833 that didn't show up on radar 172 00:08:57,917 --> 00:09:01,125 and appeared to be cloaked in some type of camouflage. 173 00:09:01,708 --> 00:09:06,333 Sneaking in at number eight on our list of alien craft-- 174 00:09:06,375 --> 00:09:09,042 Stealth UFOs. 175 00:09:11,792 --> 00:09:14,792 NARRATOR: St. Clair County, Illinois. 176 00:09:15,875 --> 00:09:19,375 January 5, 2000. 177 00:09:19,500 --> 00:09:22,042 Just after 4:00 a.m., 178 00:09:22,042 --> 00:09:26,500 three large, triangular objects flying silently in the night sky 179 00:09:26,583 --> 00:09:29,792 are seen by multiple witnesses, 180 00:09:29,875 --> 00:09:32,542 including police officers. 181 00:09:32,625 --> 00:09:35,042 I looked up in the sky and observed 182 00:09:35,125 --> 00:09:37,500 this huge, arrow-shaped, 183 00:09:37,542 --> 00:09:39,583 triangular-shaped object. 184 00:09:39,583 --> 00:09:42,500 NARRATOR: The flying triangles are observed 185 00:09:42,542 --> 00:09:43,708 for at least two hours 186 00:09:43,833 --> 00:09:47,708 as they travel over multiple towns. 187 00:09:47,792 --> 00:09:49,333 MICHAEL SCHRATT: This is known as the famous 188 00:09:49,458 --> 00:09:51,083 Southern Illinois flying triangle. 189 00:09:52,042 --> 00:09:54,625 We have about four different police officers. 190 00:09:54,708 --> 00:09:57,667 What they describe seeing are three distinct, 191 00:09:57,792 --> 00:10:00,083 arrowhead-shaped craft. 192 00:10:01,708 --> 00:10:03,667 Officer Craig Stevens was 193 00:10:03,750 --> 00:10:06,167 directly below one of these triangles. 194 00:10:06,250 --> 00:10:07,708 And he said that 195 00:10:07,792 --> 00:10:11,583 it was trying to cloak or camouflage itself 196 00:10:11,667 --> 00:10:13,125 against the night sky, 197 00:10:13,208 --> 00:10:15,167 and was projecting the star field above it 198 00:10:15,292 --> 00:10:16,792 on the bottom surface, 199 00:10:16,792 --> 00:10:19,625 allowing it to effectively blend in with its background. 200 00:10:19,708 --> 00:10:25,042 NARRATOR: The ability of triangular-shaped objects to hide in plain sight 201 00:10:25,125 --> 00:10:28,833 reminds many observers of modern stealth technology. 202 00:10:30,375 --> 00:10:34,958 Developed by the U.S. military in the 1970s and '80s, 203 00:10:35,042 --> 00:10:37,292 stealth technology can make aircraft 204 00:10:37,375 --> 00:10:39,333 nearly invisible to radar, 205 00:10:39,375 --> 00:10:42,250 sonar, and other detection methods. 206 00:10:43,292 --> 00:10:45,625 MICHAEL DENNIN: To make something invisible to radar, 207 00:10:45,708 --> 00:10:47,042 all you have to do is make sure 208 00:10:47,125 --> 00:10:51,208 that the radar doesn't reflect back to the receiver. 209 00:10:51,292 --> 00:10:55,583 This all comes down to mostly the shape of the planes. 210 00:10:55,667 --> 00:10:57,000 You want it shaped in a way 211 00:10:57,125 --> 00:10:59,833 so that the radar either scatters in random directions 212 00:10:59,917 --> 00:11:02,750 or literally just bounces off in a completely opposite way. 213 00:11:05,458 --> 00:11:08,542 NARRATOR: Could the cloaking effect that witnesses observed 214 00:11:08,542 --> 00:11:10,750 in the Illinois flying triangle 215 00:11:10,833 --> 00:11:15,625 be a type of stealth technology more advanced than our own? 216 00:11:16,625 --> 00:11:19,167 Curiously, the U.S. stealth technology 217 00:11:19,250 --> 00:11:22,042 was developed at Area 51-- 218 00:11:22,125 --> 00:11:24,958 the same secret military base 219 00:11:25,042 --> 00:11:27,875 believed to contain the remains of a UFO that crashed 220 00:11:27,958 --> 00:11:30,167 in Roswell, New Mexico. 221 00:11:31,708 --> 00:11:36,083 The official Area 51, now admitted by the government, 222 00:11:36,208 --> 00:11:41,125 is this facility where aircraft were developed and test flown-- 223 00:11:41,208 --> 00:11:43,500 The U-2 spy plane, 224 00:11:43,583 --> 00:11:45,667 the SR-71 Blackbird, 225 00:11:45,750 --> 00:11:49,042 and, of course, more recently stealth technology. 226 00:11:49,125 --> 00:11:51,500 A lot of people say this is actually something 227 00:11:51,583 --> 00:11:55,667 we've back-engineered from extraterrestrial technology. 228 00:11:56,875 --> 00:11:58,417 NOORY: I think there's no question 229 00:11:58,500 --> 00:12:02,333 that we have reverse-engineered or have looked at 230 00:12:02,417 --> 00:12:03,917 the shapes of these craft 231 00:12:04,042 --> 00:12:06,583 and have tried to create it for ourselves. 232 00:12:06,708 --> 00:12:08,792 Look at some of the new stealth jets 233 00:12:08,875 --> 00:12:10,208 that are coming out right now. 234 00:12:11,542 --> 00:12:13,333 They're amazingly close to what we saw 235 00:12:13,417 --> 00:12:16,958 20 years ago from UFO reports. 236 00:12:19,083 --> 00:12:23,667 One of my favorite places to explore is Egypt. 237 00:12:23,792 --> 00:12:27,000 On Ancient Aliens, we've investigated pyramids, 238 00:12:27,083 --> 00:12:31,042 tombs and even evidence of advanced technology. 239 00:12:31,125 --> 00:12:34,167 But the most important symbol in Ancient Egypt 240 00:12:34,250 --> 00:12:37,708 is a pyramid-shaped object that was said to represent 241 00:12:37,792 --> 00:12:41,458 a craft that descended from the sky. 242 00:12:41,542 --> 00:12:46,042 At number seven on our list-- the Benben Stone. 243 00:12:46,167 --> 00:12:48,000 ♪ 244 00:12:51,583 --> 00:12:53,833 NARRATOR: Luxor, Egypt. 245 00:12:53,917 --> 00:12:57,000 The Karnak Temple Complex is home to the tallest 246 00:12:57,042 --> 00:12:59,417 standing obelisk in Egypt. 247 00:13:00,583 --> 00:13:02,750 The 97-foot-tall monolith 248 00:13:02,833 --> 00:13:05,500 is carved from a single piece of granite. 249 00:13:05,542 --> 00:13:08,417 And crowning this remarkable obelisk 250 00:13:08,500 --> 00:13:13,167 is a pyramid-shaped object called a Benben stone. 251 00:13:14,292 --> 00:13:15,625 The Benben stone 252 00:13:15,708 --> 00:13:17,875 or the pyramid-shaped structure 253 00:13:17,958 --> 00:13:20,750 that is on the top of an obelisk or a pyramid... 254 00:13:22,083 --> 00:13:24,500 ...it is there to receive the messages 255 00:13:24,583 --> 00:13:27,042 from the Sun god 256 00:13:27,125 --> 00:13:31,042 and deliver it to its people. 257 00:13:32,125 --> 00:13:33,958 NARRATOR: According to Egyptian mythology, 258 00:13:34,042 --> 00:13:35,917 the Benben was a vehicle 259 00:13:35,917 --> 00:13:39,500 which Atum, the god of all creation, 260 00:13:39,542 --> 00:13:44,000 used to travel back and forth between the heavens and Earth. 261 00:13:45,958 --> 00:13:49,000 TSOUKALOS: One of the origin stories says 262 00:13:49,083 --> 00:13:53,375 that a Benben stone descended from the sky, 263 00:13:53,375 --> 00:13:57,208 out of which the first creator gods emerged 264 00:13:57,292 --> 00:13:59,375 and started Egyptian civilization. 265 00:13:59,500 --> 00:14:01,792 It was a flying craft. 266 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:05,708 CHILDRESS: The Benben stone was not 267 00:14:05,833 --> 00:14:08,708 just symbolizing a connection to the heavens-- 268 00:14:08,792 --> 00:14:10,917 it was actually memorializing 269 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:13,375 an extraterrestrial visitation. 270 00:14:14,458 --> 00:14:17,833 NARRATOR: Could the first Egyptians have witnessed an alien craft 271 00:14:17,958 --> 00:14:20,542 in the shape of a pyramid? 272 00:14:20,625 --> 00:14:24,333 As far as ancient astronaut theorists are concerned, 273 00:14:24,417 --> 00:14:27,208 the argument for this notion became stronger 274 00:14:27,333 --> 00:14:30,208 in July 2019, 275 00:14:30,292 --> 00:14:33,667 when, just off the coast of San Diego, 276 00:14:33,750 --> 00:14:36,667 Navy personnel aboard the USS Russell 277 00:14:36,792 --> 00:14:39,333 recorded an incredible event. 278 00:14:40,375 --> 00:14:43,375 The ship's photographic interpretation 279 00:14:43,500 --> 00:14:45,208 and Examination Team 280 00:14:45,208 --> 00:14:48,042 captured an 18-second night vision video 281 00:14:48,125 --> 00:14:53,125 of several pyramid-shaped objects hovering in the sky. 282 00:14:53,208 --> 00:14:54,875 RYAN SPRAGUE: The video showed 283 00:14:54,958 --> 00:14:57,000 a pyramid-shaped object, 284 00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:00,250 a literal, 3D, pyramid-shaped object, 285 00:15:00,375 --> 00:15:03,000 floating above the USS Russell 286 00:15:03,083 --> 00:15:04,542 off the West Coast. 287 00:15:05,750 --> 00:15:07,333 And it wasn't just one pyramid. 288 00:15:07,375 --> 00:15:09,750 There were apparently swarms of these things, 289 00:15:09,833 --> 00:15:13,167 about 700 feet above this Navy destroyer, 290 00:15:13,208 --> 00:15:15,750 completely silent, making no noise 291 00:15:15,875 --> 00:15:18,417 and darting off at immeasurable speeds. 292 00:15:19,542 --> 00:15:22,333 CHILDRESS: It's a fascinating idea that perhaps 293 00:15:22,375 --> 00:15:25,958 extraterrestrials first arrived in Egypt 294 00:15:26,042 --> 00:15:29,583 in these small, pyramid-shaped craft, 295 00:15:29,667 --> 00:15:31,042 like we're seeing in this video. 296 00:15:31,125 --> 00:15:34,125 TSOUKALOS: Clearly, what we see in this footage of today 297 00:15:34,208 --> 00:15:38,958 is three-dimensional pyramid floating in the sky. 298 00:15:38,958 --> 00:15:40,833 Providing the footage is real, 299 00:15:40,917 --> 00:15:41,292 providing it is extraterrestrial, 300 00:15:41,917 --> 00:15:43,333 providing it is extraterrestrial, 301 00:15:43,500 --> 00:15:46,000 then one could argue 302 00:15:46,042 --> 00:15:48,750 that the same visitors that we've had back then 303 00:15:48,833 --> 00:15:50,583 are showing themselves again. 304 00:15:56,583 --> 00:15:57,958 What's fascinating to me 305 00:15:57,958 --> 00:15:59,125 is that in many parts of the world, 306 00:15:59,208 --> 00:16:02,375 we can find ancient illustrations of objects 307 00:16:02,375 --> 00:16:05,125 that people allegedly saw in the sky 308 00:16:05,208 --> 00:16:08,167 that look identical to modern spacecraft. 309 00:16:09,375 --> 00:16:12,667 Coming in at number six on our countdown of 310 00:16:12,792 --> 00:16:15,000 the top ten alien craft-- 311 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:17,000 Rocket Ships. 312 00:16:17,875 --> 00:16:20,208 ♪ 313 00:16:21,667 --> 00:16:23,458 NARRATOR: Palenque, Mexico. 314 00:16:23,542 --> 00:16:25,458 1952. 315 00:16:25,542 --> 00:16:30,208 Archaeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier discovers 316 00:16:30,333 --> 00:16:33,000 the pyramid tomb of King Pakal, 317 00:16:33,083 --> 00:16:39,000 who ruled the ancient Mayan city from 615 to 683 AD. 318 00:16:39,125 --> 00:16:43,042 Inside, he discovers one of the most remarkable 319 00:16:43,125 --> 00:16:45,333 Mayan artifacts ever found: 320 00:16:45,417 --> 00:16:47,958 a highly decorated sarcophagus. 321 00:16:49,625 --> 00:16:53,000 HENRY: Pakal's sarcophagus lid is very rich in detail. 322 00:16:53,042 --> 00:16:55,625 It shows what appears to be a world tree, 323 00:16:55,708 --> 00:16:59,125 and a vision serpent, as the Mayans refer to it, 324 00:16:59,208 --> 00:17:01,917 that snakes its way up this tree. 325 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:03,833 The glyphs that are attached to it say that 326 00:17:03,917 --> 00:17:06,625 this tree is shimmering or shining. 327 00:17:06,708 --> 00:17:07,708 It's reflective. 328 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:11,000 NARRATOR: Mainstream scholars believe 329 00:17:11,042 --> 00:17:14,000 the sarcophagus lid portrays King Pakal 330 00:17:14,083 --> 00:17:18,042 on a journey to Xibalba, the land of the dead. 331 00:17:18,208 --> 00:17:20,417 But ancient astronaut theorists suggest 332 00:17:20,500 --> 00:17:24,375 the carving depicts something very different. 333 00:17:24,458 --> 00:17:25,875 ERICH VON DANIKEN: In the center of the frame, 334 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:29,833 King Pakal is sitting bending forward 335 00:17:29,958 --> 00:17:32,250 almost like a, a racing motorcyclist. 336 00:17:33,375 --> 00:17:36,375 He has something like a mask, an oxygen mask on his nose. 337 00:17:36,458 --> 00:17:38,667 You clearly see his two hands. 338 00:17:38,750 --> 00:17:41,125 He manipulates some control. 339 00:17:41,208 --> 00:17:43,167 He's sitting on a chair, 340 00:17:43,250 --> 00:17:47,000 and outside of the frame, you see something like a flame. 341 00:17:47,042 --> 00:17:49,167 It looks like an exhaust. 342 00:17:49,333 --> 00:17:52,583 It looks like some sort of space shuttle. 343 00:17:55,542 --> 00:17:59,167 NARRATOR: The idea of King Pakal sitting at the controls 344 00:17:59,250 --> 00:18:02,458 of a rocket ship might sound like science fiction. 345 00:18:03,542 --> 00:18:06,333 But ancient astronaut theorists suggest that 346 00:18:06,417 --> 00:18:09,917 nearly identical carvings can be found in India. 347 00:18:10,042 --> 00:18:13,500 In Ajanta caves, there are many carvings 348 00:18:13,625 --> 00:18:16,500 of Buddha inside stupas. 349 00:18:16,583 --> 00:18:20,500 From the front, it appears as though Buddha is 350 00:18:20,583 --> 00:18:24,375 standing inside an elaborately carved arch, 351 00:18:24,500 --> 00:18:25,958 but the fact is 352 00:18:26,042 --> 00:18:28,042 what we are seeing from the front 353 00:18:28,167 --> 00:18:32,042 is a cross section of a stupa 354 00:18:32,125 --> 00:18:35,750 inside of which Buddha is standing. 355 00:18:35,875 --> 00:18:37,583 And what is a stupa? 356 00:18:37,708 --> 00:18:42,167 It is nothing but some kind of a vehicle. 357 00:18:43,833 --> 00:18:45,833 TSOUKALOS: A stupa, by definition, 358 00:18:45,917 --> 00:18:49,500 is a vehicle with which to reach the realm of the gods. 359 00:18:49,583 --> 00:18:51,958 That is the definition of a stupa. 360 00:18:52,042 --> 00:18:55,208 Well, just change the wording: "a vehicle 361 00:18:55,208 --> 00:18:58,125 with which to reach space." 362 00:18:58,208 --> 00:19:01,125 These stupas can be seen-- 363 00:19:01,208 --> 00:19:03,000 for example, in the Ajanta Cave-- 364 00:19:03,083 --> 00:19:04,792 with smoke and fire at the bottom. 365 00:19:04,875 --> 00:19:09,333 If we had one or ten or even 20 examples like that, 366 00:19:09,375 --> 00:19:11,417 you could be like "All right, interesting." 367 00:19:11,500 --> 00:19:17,125 But what if I told you there are millions of the same motif 368 00:19:17,208 --> 00:19:20,375 in India about celestial beings 369 00:19:20,458 --> 00:19:24,000 depicted in something that could be interpreted 370 00:19:24,042 --> 00:19:26,667 as some type of a rocket vehicle. 371 00:19:28,542 --> 00:19:31,667 There are countless examples of ancient artwork depicting 372 00:19:31,750 --> 00:19:35,333 what many think could be aerial vehicles, 373 00:19:35,375 --> 00:19:39,000 and in some cases, you can even find figures 374 00:19:39,042 --> 00:19:41,125 wearing what looks like flying gear 375 00:19:41,208 --> 00:19:42,500 right on their bodies. 376 00:19:42,583 --> 00:19:45,792 At number five on our countdown-- 377 00:19:45,875 --> 00:19:47,542 Jet Packs. 378 00:19:48,875 --> 00:19:50,875 ♪ 379 00:19:53,333 --> 00:19:55,042 NARRATOR: La Venta, Mexico. 380 00:19:55,125 --> 00:19:57,042 1939. 381 00:19:57,125 --> 00:20:00,292 American archaeologists Matthew Stirling 382 00:20:00,375 --> 00:20:02,625 and Philip Drucker 383 00:20:02,625 --> 00:20:06,375 begin an excavation of an ancient pyramid mound. 384 00:20:06,458 --> 00:20:09,125 Over the next two decades, 385 00:20:09,208 --> 00:20:11,667 they unearth extraordinary statues, 386 00:20:11,792 --> 00:20:15,875 carvings and mosaics from a previously unknown culture: 387 00:20:15,958 --> 00:20:18,167 the Olmecs, 388 00:20:18,208 --> 00:20:22,458 a civilization that emerged around 1400 BC. 389 00:20:23,542 --> 00:20:26,667 The discovery is a major archeological find 390 00:20:26,708 --> 00:20:29,875 and produced a sensational piece of evidence 391 00:20:29,958 --> 00:20:31,958 for the ancient astronaut theory. 392 00:20:33,875 --> 00:20:36,333 TSOUKALOS: At the Museum of Natural History in New York City, 393 00:20:36,375 --> 00:20:38,333 there is an Olmec figurine, 394 00:20:38,375 --> 00:20:41,333 and in my opinion, it is the smoking gun 395 00:20:41,417 --> 00:20:45,417 of our ancestors having access to aviation technology... 396 00:20:46,458 --> 00:20:49,000 ...because if you look at this figurine, 397 00:20:49,125 --> 00:20:54,292 you can tell that this guy is wearing some sort of a suit, 398 00:20:54,375 --> 00:20:58,375 he has some type of controls with tubes on his chest, 399 00:20:58,458 --> 00:21:02,917 and on the side you have six wings coming out of him. 400 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:05,708 So you have to wonder what is depicted here. 401 00:21:07,083 --> 00:21:09,500 Now, if you look at a modern jet pack, 402 00:21:09,583 --> 00:21:11,958 humans are ascending and descending 403 00:21:12,042 --> 00:21:13,500 in a vertical position. 404 00:21:13,583 --> 00:21:18,083 Now imagine if that was shown to our ancestors. 405 00:21:18,167 --> 00:21:20,667 How would they react? 406 00:21:20,750 --> 00:21:24,000 The technological frame of reference of our ancestors 407 00:21:24,167 --> 00:21:25,583 was not the same as 408 00:21:25,667 --> 00:21:28,583 our technological frame of reference today. 409 00:21:28,667 --> 00:21:32,458 So of course they would have carved something like this 410 00:21:32,458 --> 00:21:34,958 when they had never seen a vehicle 411 00:21:35,042 --> 00:21:36,667 with which to go to space. 412 00:21:38,208 --> 00:21:40,875 NARRATOR: Could it be that a figurine 413 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:45,458 made more than 2400 years ago is a depiction of someone 414 00:21:45,542 --> 00:21:49,458 wearing the equivalent of a modern-day jet pack? 415 00:21:49,583 --> 00:21:52,542 Ancient astronaut theorists say yes, 416 00:21:52,625 --> 00:21:55,667 and suggest other figures have been found 417 00:21:55,708 --> 00:21:59,292 that appear to be wearing some type of flying apparatus... 418 00:22:00,750 --> 00:22:05,000 ...like the 13-foot-tall statues at the Temple of Quetzalcoatl 419 00:22:05,042 --> 00:22:07,625 in Tula de Allende, Mexico. 420 00:22:08,708 --> 00:22:11,667 TSOUKALOS: There are figures on the main pyramid. 421 00:22:11,792 --> 00:22:15,167 And they're some of the most magnificent statues 422 00:22:15,208 --> 00:22:17,292 that we can find on planet Earth. 423 00:22:18,417 --> 00:22:22,042 Because it's as if these guys are standing 424 00:22:22,125 --> 00:22:24,917 inside some pressurized suits, 425 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:26,875 they have helmets on, 426 00:22:26,958 --> 00:22:30,833 and they have these jet packs on their chest. 427 00:22:32,333 --> 00:22:34,375 NARRATOR: On the opposite side of the globe, 428 00:22:34,500 --> 00:22:35,833 at the Ellora Caves in India, 429 00:22:35,875 --> 00:22:40,000 is a 1200-year-old carving of a demon king named 430 00:22:40,083 --> 00:22:43,417 Ravana depicted in a scene from the ancient Hindu text 431 00:22:43,542 --> 00:22:45,500 called the Ramayana. 432 00:22:45,583 --> 00:22:49,167 In the scene, Ravana is being attacked by a bird 433 00:22:49,292 --> 00:22:52,042 while ascending into the sky, 434 00:22:52,125 --> 00:22:55,792 and according to the story, the curious object on his back 435 00:22:55,875 --> 00:23:00,583 is a flying contraption called a pushpaka vimana. 436 00:23:00,667 --> 00:23:03,542 DEEPAK SHIMKHADA: Ravana does appear in many Hindu texts 437 00:23:03,667 --> 00:23:07,500 like epics, uh, Mahabharata, Ramayana, 438 00:23:07,583 --> 00:23:10,958 and many other puranas, which is Hindu... Hindu texts. 439 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:14,667 We are told that, you know, he constructed 440 00:23:14,708 --> 00:23:18,792 a pushpaka vimana, this flying machine. 441 00:23:18,875 --> 00:23:21,208 MOHAN: This pushpaka vimana is made of gold. 442 00:23:21,292 --> 00:23:22,917 It is like a jet pack 443 00:23:23,042 --> 00:23:25,500 that you could put it on and you could start flying. 444 00:23:25,625 --> 00:23:27,042 We have jet packs now, 445 00:23:27,125 --> 00:23:28,667 but, interestingly, 446 00:23:28,750 --> 00:23:31,667 almost all these machines were mentioned 447 00:23:31,750 --> 00:23:34,500 5,000 years ago in Mahabharata. 448 00:23:34,500 --> 00:23:36,292 NARRATOR: Is it possible that 449 00:23:36,375 --> 00:23:39,000 the mysterious figures depicted wearing 450 00:23:39,125 --> 00:23:40,667 what appear to be jet packs 451 00:23:40,708 --> 00:23:45,250 are evidence our ancestors saw extraterrestrial spacecraft 452 00:23:45,333 --> 00:23:47,167 in the distant past? 453 00:23:47,208 --> 00:23:49,667 Ancient astronaut theorists say yes, 454 00:23:49,708 --> 00:23:52,375 and suggest further evidence 455 00:23:52,458 --> 00:23:55,083 can be found in ancient descriptions 456 00:23:55,167 --> 00:23:57,500 of flying chariots. 457 00:24:02,333 --> 00:24:04,042 Some of the best descriptions 458 00:24:04,042 --> 00:24:05,167 of ancient UFOs can be found 459 00:24:05,250 --> 00:24:07,500 in the Sanskrit texts of India. 460 00:24:07,542 --> 00:24:10,667 The sensational stories are filled with accounts 461 00:24:10,708 --> 00:24:14,417 of celestial beings and flying chariots. 462 00:24:14,500 --> 00:24:16,875 But the craft described in these texts 463 00:24:16,958 --> 00:24:21,000 look remarkably similar to some modern UFO reports. 464 00:24:22,208 --> 00:24:27,083 At number four on our list-- Acorn-Shaped Craft. 465 00:24:29,500 --> 00:24:31,833 NARRATOR: Kecksburg, Pennsylvania. 466 00:24:31,917 --> 00:24:35,792 December 9, 1965. 467 00:24:36,750 --> 00:24:38,792 Thousands of people watch 468 00:24:38,875 --> 00:24:42,292 as a massive fireball streaks across the night sky 469 00:24:42,375 --> 00:24:46,000 and crashes into a nearby forest. 470 00:24:46,083 --> 00:24:47,958 ♪ 471 00:24:49,125 --> 00:24:51,167 A large object was seen 472 00:24:51,250 --> 00:24:54,417 to come down in a wooded area. 473 00:24:54,500 --> 00:24:58,750 And witnesses actually claimed 474 00:24:58,875 --> 00:25:00,375 that this strange object, 475 00:25:00,500 --> 00:25:03,167 which was the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, 476 00:25:03,250 --> 00:25:06,750 looked like what appeared to be a giant acorn. 477 00:25:08,625 --> 00:25:10,333 The phones went off, 478 00:25:10,333 --> 00:25:11,792 and all of the volunteer 479 00:25:11,875 --> 00:25:14,125 fire departments all around, 480 00:25:14,208 --> 00:25:17,333 "We have a plane crash in the woods of Kecksburg." 481 00:25:17,417 --> 00:25:19,500 Well, there was a man named Jim Romanski, 482 00:25:19,583 --> 00:25:23,292 and I had a real privilege to talk with him directly, 483 00:25:23,375 --> 00:25:24,875 in March of 1998... 484 00:25:26,583 --> 00:25:29,708 ...because he was one of only about ten people 485 00:25:29,792 --> 00:25:31,958 who stood around this object, 486 00:25:32,042 --> 00:25:36,042 in that forest-- officially, as a volunteer fireman-- 487 00:25:36,167 --> 00:25:38,625 walking around and trying to understand, 488 00:25:38,708 --> 00:25:40,750 "What are we looking at?" 489 00:25:42,417 --> 00:25:45,083 And he said, "It was like an acorn. 490 00:25:45,167 --> 00:25:48,000 "And at the top, it was copper-colored. 491 00:25:48,042 --> 00:25:50,250 "And then in the bottom, it was a darker color. 492 00:25:51,417 --> 00:25:55,375 "And there was a band, about four inches wide, 493 00:25:55,500 --> 00:25:58,292 "and raised up-- not carved in-- 494 00:25:58,375 --> 00:26:03,208 were symbols that went around a portion of this craft." 495 00:26:03,292 --> 00:26:07,000 COLLINS: Suddenly, the military entered the area, 496 00:26:07,083 --> 00:26:09,125 cordoned it off, 497 00:26:09,208 --> 00:26:11,667 and the whole thing was essentially hushed up. 498 00:26:13,500 --> 00:26:15,500 NARRATOR: The official report from NASA 499 00:26:15,583 --> 00:26:17,583 stated that the object was debris 500 00:26:17,708 --> 00:26:19,417 from a Russian satellite, 501 00:26:19,500 --> 00:26:21,833 even though witnesses claimed 502 00:26:21,958 --> 00:26:25,083 it changed direction several times. 503 00:26:27,833 --> 00:26:31,167 Today, a monument to the acorn-shaped craft 504 00:26:31,250 --> 00:26:33,958 stands in the town of Kecksburg. 505 00:26:34,042 --> 00:26:36,750 For ancient astronaut theorists, 506 00:26:36,875 --> 00:26:40,833 this UFO event is particularly intriguing 507 00:26:40,917 --> 00:26:43,417 because the object's unusual shape 508 00:26:43,500 --> 00:26:45,167 bears a striking resemblance 509 00:26:45,208 --> 00:26:50,375 to flying objects described in ancient Indian texts. 510 00:26:50,500 --> 00:26:52,042 HENRY: The craft itself is 511 00:26:52,167 --> 00:26:54,000 an acorn-shaped craft. 512 00:26:54,125 --> 00:26:56,250 Immediately, that's reminiscent of 513 00:26:56,333 --> 00:26:57,583 what the ancient Indian texts 514 00:26:57,708 --> 00:26:59,583 described as the vimana, 515 00:26:59,667 --> 00:27:02,000 which were acorn-shaped craft. 516 00:27:03,167 --> 00:27:06,583 TSOUKALOS: In the Mahabharata and at many of the ancient Vedic texts, 517 00:27:06,667 --> 00:27:09,583 they speak about the so-called "vimanas." 518 00:27:09,667 --> 00:27:11,583 The vimanas were flying vehicles 519 00:27:11,667 --> 00:27:14,250 with which to reach the celestial realm. 520 00:27:15,292 --> 00:27:18,250 NARRATOR: In the ancient Sanskrit epics of India, 521 00:27:18,333 --> 00:27:21,542 there are highly-detailed descriptions of the vimana, 522 00:27:21,625 --> 00:27:23,000 which carried the gods 523 00:27:23,083 --> 00:27:26,000 and other important figures through the sky. 524 00:27:26,083 --> 00:27:28,875 The acorn-shaped craft were even incorporated 525 00:27:28,958 --> 00:27:32,833 at the very top of many Hindu temples. 526 00:27:32,917 --> 00:27:34,125 SHIMKHADA: In Hindu texts, 527 00:27:34,208 --> 00:27:37,458 such as the Ramayana or the Mahabharata, 528 00:27:37,542 --> 00:27:41,833 the vimana is primarily a flying ship 529 00:27:41,875 --> 00:27:43,917 that God used to travel 530 00:27:44,042 --> 00:27:47,000 back and forth between spaces 531 00:27:47,125 --> 00:27:51,750 in heaven from one planet to another planet, 532 00:27:51,833 --> 00:27:54,750 from one universe to another universe, 533 00:27:54,875 --> 00:27:57,750 and also come to Earth. 534 00:27:57,833 --> 00:28:00,292 HENRY: When we match up eyewitness accounts 535 00:28:00,375 --> 00:28:03,375 of the acorn-shaped craft with the ancient vimanas, 536 00:28:03,500 --> 00:28:08,333 we have to be open to seriously question if these are, in fact, 537 00:28:08,417 --> 00:28:11,083 ancient craft that are now appearing in our modern world. 538 00:28:14,042 --> 00:28:17,667 Some vimanas are portrayed as small objects 539 00:28:17,750 --> 00:28:20,875 that could travel at incredible speeds. 540 00:28:20,958 --> 00:28:22,917 But these weren't the only flying machines 541 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:24,542 in Hindu mythology. 542 00:28:24,625 --> 00:28:28,375 The ancient Sanskrit texts also described ships in the sky 543 00:28:28,458 --> 00:28:30,958 that were simply massive. 544 00:28:31,042 --> 00:28:34,833 Number three on our list-- Floating Cities. 545 00:28:38,167 --> 00:28:41,000 NARRATOR:s To the more than one billion Hindu faithful, 546 00:28:41,042 --> 00:28:46,000 India's oldest Sanskrit texts, known as the Vedas, 547 00:28:46,083 --> 00:28:50,125 are accounts given directly to humans by the gods. 548 00:28:51,167 --> 00:28:54,667 These sensational stories describe divine beings 549 00:28:54,750 --> 00:28:57,875 arriving from palaces up in the sky. 550 00:28:59,750 --> 00:29:02,625 All these Vedic texts speak of a time 551 00:29:02,708 --> 00:29:06,000 when three cities were orbiting Earth... 552 00:29:07,333 --> 00:29:11,667 ...and from these cities, smaller vehicles were used 553 00:29:11,667 --> 00:29:14,167 in order to reach the realm of the Earth. 554 00:29:14,250 --> 00:29:18,333 Even extraterrestrials, with their advanced technology, 555 00:29:18,417 --> 00:29:21,208 would have to arrive with a larger mother ship. 556 00:29:22,250 --> 00:29:24,708 And this is why we have these stories 557 00:29:24,792 --> 00:29:27,167 of palaces up in the sky. 558 00:29:27,292 --> 00:29:30,792 NARRATOR: Could it be that the people of ancient India 559 00:29:30,875 --> 00:29:32,500 witnessed enormous mother ships 560 00:29:32,542 --> 00:29:36,417 that they interpreted as floating cities or palaces? 561 00:29:38,708 --> 00:29:41,042 Curiously, in modern times, 562 00:29:41,125 --> 00:29:44,208 there have been reports-- and even recordings-- 563 00:29:44,333 --> 00:29:48,750 of what look like actual cities appearing high up in the sky. 564 00:29:48,750 --> 00:29:52,458 One such event occurred in Foshan, China, 565 00:29:52,542 --> 00:29:55,833 on October 7, 2015, 566 00:29:55,875 --> 00:29:58,042 when the apparition of a cityscape 567 00:29:58,125 --> 00:30:01,042 remained in the sky for several minutes-- 568 00:30:01,125 --> 00:30:03,417 long enough to be captured on video. 569 00:30:04,500 --> 00:30:08,083 The video footage was broadcast on Chinese television 570 00:30:08,208 --> 00:30:12,208 and subsequently disseminated on social media across the globe. 571 00:30:12,917 --> 00:30:15,000 Numerous people reported seeing 572 00:30:15,042 --> 00:30:17,917 what looked like skyscraper-type buildings 573 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:20,167 in the clouds high in the sky. 574 00:30:21,083 --> 00:30:23,000 It was an amazing spectacle. 575 00:30:23,042 --> 00:30:25,333 There's just no other way to describe it. 576 00:30:25,458 --> 00:30:28,917 JASON MARTELL: Now, just a few days later, over 800 miles away, 577 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:31,917 we had another sighting of this exact same phenomenon. 578 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:33,667 So it stands to reason 579 00:30:33,750 --> 00:30:34,833 there could in fact have been 580 00:30:34,917 --> 00:30:36,833 some type of a large mother ship 581 00:30:36,958 --> 00:30:38,542 or some craft in the sky. 582 00:30:39,625 --> 00:30:42,250 NARRATOR: Is it possible that the floating city reported 583 00:30:42,333 --> 00:30:47,042 in two locations in China was a massive alien mother ship? 584 00:30:47,125 --> 00:30:50,083 And if so, could it be the same craft 585 00:30:50,167 --> 00:30:53,042 described in ancient Hindu texts? 586 00:30:53,125 --> 00:30:57,167 Ancient astronaut theorists say yes and suggest 587 00:30:57,250 --> 00:30:57,350 further evidence that our planet is being visited by alien craft 588 00:30:58,750 --> 00:31:02,000 further evidence that our planet is being visited by alien craft 589 00:31:02,083 --> 00:31:04,917 can be found by examining striking images 590 00:31:05,042 --> 00:31:06,917 captured not on Earth 591 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:09,458 but in outer space. 592 00:31:14,208 --> 00:31:15,000 One of the most important factors 593 00:31:15,125 --> 00:31:16,667 to consider when evaluating 594 00:31:16,750 --> 00:31:18,000 a UFO sighting 595 00:31:18,125 --> 00:31:20,167 is the credibility of the witness. 596 00:31:20,250 --> 00:31:22,667 And perhaps there are no better experts 597 00:31:22,792 --> 00:31:24,375 on objects in the sky 598 00:31:24,458 --> 00:31:28,042 than the men and women of the space program. 599 00:31:28,125 --> 00:31:31,375 Which is why our next example is so exciting, 600 00:31:31,458 --> 00:31:34,167 because they have been seen not only on Earth 601 00:31:34,167 --> 00:31:36,167 but deep in our solar system. 602 00:31:37,250 --> 00:31:41,667 At number two on our list of the top ten alien craft-- 603 00:31:41,708 --> 00:31:44,083 Cigar-Shaped Objects. 604 00:31:45,458 --> 00:31:49,083 NARRATOR: Mount Washington, New Hampshire, 1870. 605 00:31:50,917 --> 00:31:54,542 During a meteorological expedition in the area, 606 00:31:54,625 --> 00:31:58,917 photographers capture a strange black object on film 607 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:03,083 that appears to be floating among the clouds. 608 00:32:03,167 --> 00:32:05,125 The very first photo 609 00:32:05,208 --> 00:32:07,958 that we have of a UFO is of a, 610 00:32:08,042 --> 00:32:10,333 a huge cylindrical craft 611 00:32:10,333 --> 00:32:12,333 over Mount Washington in New Hampshire... 612 00:32:13,375 --> 00:32:18,333 ...taken in 1870, right at the very beginning of photography. 613 00:32:18,375 --> 00:32:20,250 DOLAN: You see this cloud formation 614 00:32:20,333 --> 00:32:22,333 up at Mount Washington 615 00:32:22,417 --> 00:32:27,458 and you see this very obvious cigar-shaped object. 616 00:32:27,542 --> 00:32:30,833 Is the photograph authentic? And turns out it is. 617 00:32:31,917 --> 00:32:35,333 NARRATOR: Since the Mount Washington photograph, 618 00:32:35,417 --> 00:32:38,625 cigar-shaped craft have been reportedly seen 619 00:32:38,708 --> 00:32:40,333 all over the world. 620 00:32:40,417 --> 00:32:44,042 Like in December of 1978, 621 00:32:44,167 --> 00:32:46,417 when two Chilean pilots on a training mission 622 00:32:46,417 --> 00:32:51,000 at an elevation of 35,000 feet detected 623 00:32:51,083 --> 00:32:54,292 a massive cigar-shaped object on their radar. 624 00:32:55,917 --> 00:33:00,542 They encountered, visually and on their airborne radar... 625 00:33:01,625 --> 00:33:06,042 ...an absolutely enormous object in the sky. 626 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:08,583 In fact, two separate 627 00:33:08,667 --> 00:33:10,792 ground-based radars tracked this object. 628 00:33:10,875 --> 00:33:13,250 As the pilots approached this object, 629 00:33:13,375 --> 00:33:16,583 one of them described it as an elongated object 630 00:33:16,667 --> 00:33:18,708 swathed in smoke. 631 00:33:19,917 --> 00:33:21,375 As it got to a certain distance, 632 00:33:21,458 --> 00:33:23,333 this thing, according to their report, 633 00:33:23,417 --> 00:33:26,667 instantly accelerated to the west, 634 00:33:26,750 --> 00:33:29,167 in the direction of the ocean, 635 00:33:29,250 --> 00:33:30,417 and was just gone. 636 00:33:31,583 --> 00:33:35,208 NARRATOR: Over 40 years later, another cigar-shaped craft 637 00:33:35,292 --> 00:33:39,833 was reported almost 7,000 miles away in Hawaii. 638 00:33:41,375 --> 00:33:43,500 On December 29, 2020, 639 00:33:43,583 --> 00:33:49,042 people could see a huge, cigar-shaped craft 640 00:33:49,042 --> 00:33:52,833 hovering off the coast and took photos of it, 641 00:33:52,917 --> 00:33:55,000 and, eventually, 642 00:33:55,083 --> 00:33:57,833 this craft then plunged into the ocean. 643 00:33:57,875 --> 00:34:01,375 And the Navy went out there to also look for 644 00:34:01,458 --> 00:34:04,417 possible wreckage of some craft 645 00:34:04,542 --> 00:34:06,833 crashing into the ocean and found nothing. 646 00:34:07,917 --> 00:34:10,708 NARRATOR: Could these strange, cigar-shaped objects 647 00:34:10,792 --> 00:34:14,292 belong to visitors from another world? 648 00:34:14,375 --> 00:34:18,000 Ancient astronaut theorists believe the answer can be found 649 00:34:18,083 --> 00:34:21,167 by examining a curious radar image 650 00:34:21,250 --> 00:34:25,667 taken more than 130 million miles from Earth. 651 00:34:28,042 --> 00:34:31,708 On March 25, 1989, 652 00:34:31,792 --> 00:34:35,583 a Soviet probe was approaching the Martian moon Phobos 653 00:34:35,667 --> 00:34:39,375 when it beamed back an astonishing image to Earth. 654 00:34:39,458 --> 00:34:41,417 As they got closer with Phobos 655 00:34:41,500 --> 00:34:42,958 we see one last frame 656 00:34:43,042 --> 00:34:44,292 that seems to have showed up... 657 00:34:45,333 --> 00:34:47,750 ...a very large, cigar-elongated shape, 658 00:34:47,833 --> 00:34:51,458 as if it's possibly a large craft of some kind 659 00:34:51,458 --> 00:34:53,375 hovering above the surface. 660 00:34:53,458 --> 00:34:56,250 DOLAN: We really have to consider the possibility here 661 00:34:56,375 --> 00:34:59,125 that the Soviets did encounter 662 00:34:59,208 --> 00:35:01,292 genuine, non-human UFO 663 00:35:01,375 --> 00:35:03,375 during that mission. 664 00:35:05,375 --> 00:35:08,542 NARRATOR: Is it possible that the strange cigar-shaped object 665 00:35:08,625 --> 00:35:11,250 photographed by the Soviet probe was 666 00:35:11,333 --> 00:35:13,750 an extraterrestrial spacecraft? 667 00:35:14,833 --> 00:35:19,167 Incredibly, another massive cigar-shaped object was spotted 668 00:35:19,250 --> 00:35:23,500 traveling through our solar system in 2017. 669 00:35:24,667 --> 00:35:28,333 Astronomers discovered that it came from a distant star, 670 00:35:28,417 --> 00:35:31,542 and gave it the Hawaiian name "Oumuamua," 671 00:35:31,542 --> 00:35:35,250 which means "messenger from the distant past." 672 00:35:36,500 --> 00:35:38,792 Oumuamua doesn't look like 673 00:35:38,917 --> 00:35:39,875 a typical asteroid. 674 00:35:41,250 --> 00:35:44,792 It's more the big cigar-shape that's seen often. 675 00:35:44,875 --> 00:35:48,292 And there were a lot of astronomers and scientists 676 00:35:48,375 --> 00:35:52,250 who studied Oumuamua and it looks like 677 00:35:52,333 --> 00:35:55,000 it could possibly have been a probe 678 00:35:55,042 --> 00:35:59,708 from some other civilization outside our solar system. 679 00:35:59,792 --> 00:36:01,708 We're just moments away 680 00:36:01,708 --> 00:36:04,667 from the final alien craft on our list. 681 00:36:04,708 --> 00:36:07,167 And we've saved the best for last. 682 00:36:07,250 --> 00:36:09,500 Can you guess what it is? 683 00:36:14,167 --> 00:36:15,417 As we've seen, throughout history 684 00:36:15,417 --> 00:36:16,500 there have been reports 685 00:36:16,625 --> 00:36:18,917 of unidentified aerial vehicles 686 00:36:19,042 --> 00:36:21,333 of all shapes and sizes. 687 00:36:21,375 --> 00:36:24,833 But for most people, when they hear the word "UFO," 688 00:36:24,917 --> 00:36:28,667 the first thing they think of is the number one entry 689 00:36:28,750 --> 00:36:33,000 on our top ten list of alien craft-- 690 00:36:33,083 --> 00:36:35,333 the Flying Saucer. 691 00:36:42,125 --> 00:36:44,792 NARRATOR: Private pilot Kenneth Arnold 692 00:36:44,792 --> 00:36:47,542 is on a solo flight near Mount Rainier. 693 00:36:47,625 --> 00:36:51,500 As he approaches the mountain, he suddenly spots 694 00:36:51,542 --> 00:36:54,708 a group of nine silver, disc-shaped objects. 695 00:36:54,792 --> 00:36:56,875 As he was flying around the mountain, 696 00:36:57,000 --> 00:36:59,000 he suddenly caught sight of 697 00:36:59,125 --> 00:37:01,250 a squadron of strange-looking objects. 698 00:37:01,333 --> 00:37:03,708 He could not figure out what they were. 699 00:37:03,792 --> 00:37:06,000 They were flying at incredible speeds 700 00:37:06,083 --> 00:37:09,500 and performing maneuvers that essentially would kill 701 00:37:09,583 --> 00:37:12,333 any regular pilot in a normal aircraft. 702 00:37:13,417 --> 00:37:17,542 CHILDRESS: He described them as skipping through the air 703 00:37:17,625 --> 00:37:20,875 like a saucer, he said. 704 00:37:20,958 --> 00:37:22,167 And this is really where 705 00:37:22,208 --> 00:37:25,042 the term "a flying saucer" 706 00:37:25,167 --> 00:37:26,625 arrives in English language, 707 00:37:26,708 --> 00:37:28,833 is from Kenneth Arnold's description. 708 00:37:29,917 --> 00:37:32,875 NARRATOR: Arnold's account became an international sensation 709 00:37:32,958 --> 00:37:36,458 and his experience emboldened others to come forward 710 00:37:36,542 --> 00:37:39,708 with their own unexplainable encounters. 711 00:37:40,875 --> 00:37:42,708 In a few short months, 712 00:37:42,792 --> 00:37:46,583 hundreds of flying saucers were reported across the country. 713 00:37:46,708 --> 00:37:49,667 When you look at the year 1947, 714 00:37:49,708 --> 00:37:53,167 the statistics are that there were at least 800 reports 715 00:37:53,208 --> 00:37:55,750 to police, and airports, 716 00:37:55,833 --> 00:37:58,708 of people saying that they were seeing something in the sky, 717 00:37:58,792 --> 00:38:00,167 they didn't know what it was. 718 00:38:00,250 --> 00:38:02,708 BIRNES: Ufologists may say 719 00:38:02,792 --> 00:38:06,500 that the modern UFO era began in 1947. 720 00:38:06,583 --> 00:38:08,250 But flying saucers 721 00:38:08,333 --> 00:38:09,333 have been around 722 00:38:09,417 --> 00:38:10,917 ever since the dawn of time. 723 00:38:11,042 --> 00:38:12,500 For example, 724 00:38:12,583 --> 00:38:17,000 in the ninth century, there were UFOs flying over England. 725 00:38:17,167 --> 00:38:20,333 The Romans saw UFOs. 726 00:38:20,417 --> 00:38:26,417 What's our actual first major UFO description? 727 00:38:26,500 --> 00:38:28,417 The first one? 728 00:38:28,500 --> 00:38:30,375 It's in the Bible. 729 00:38:31,500 --> 00:38:33,458 NARRATOR: According to the Hebrew Bible, 730 00:38:33,542 --> 00:38:37,208 a priest named Ezekiel received a mysterious visitor 731 00:38:37,333 --> 00:38:38,500 from the heavens. 732 00:38:38,625 --> 00:38:41,000 Ezekiel was by the River Khabur, 733 00:38:41,083 --> 00:38:44,000 and he said a great whirlwind came toward him. 734 00:38:44,042 --> 00:38:45,708 ♪ 735 00:38:45,792 --> 00:38:48,500 He described it as a fire enfolding itself 736 00:38:48,583 --> 00:38:49,833 and out of the fire 737 00:38:49,958 --> 00:38:54,417 was the color of amber, which is the Hebrew word 738 00:38:54,500 --> 00:38:57,250 which means "polished specter of metal," 739 00:38:57,333 --> 00:38:59,833 which implies that it's metallic. 740 00:38:59,917 --> 00:39:03,792 And that it's spinning, and it lands in front of him. 741 00:39:03,875 --> 00:39:05,458 And suddenly, 742 00:39:05,542 --> 00:39:09,167 out of this whirlwind come four creatures. 743 00:39:10,708 --> 00:39:12,667 TAYLOR: Ezekiel describes that 744 00:39:12,792 --> 00:39:15,292 the outside of the wheel doesn't spin. 745 00:39:15,292 --> 00:39:17,708 The inside of the wheel spins. 746 00:39:17,792 --> 00:39:20,667 So he's telling us that's the engines. 747 00:39:21,708 --> 00:39:23,708 None of this necessarily has to be magic. 748 00:39:23,792 --> 00:39:25,667 This could all be technology. 749 00:39:26,708 --> 00:39:30,125 NARRATOR: By far, the most famous report of a flying saucer 750 00:39:30,208 --> 00:39:33,583 occurred on July 8, 1947, 751 00:39:33,667 --> 00:39:37,667 when the U.S. Army itself announced that one crashed 752 00:39:37,750 --> 00:39:39,958 outside Roswell, New Mexico. 753 00:39:40,042 --> 00:39:44,042 BIRNES: July 8 and 9, the newspaper headlines, 754 00:39:44,125 --> 00:39:47,625 "Army Captures Flying Disc Outside of Roswell." 755 00:39:47,708 --> 00:39:49,417 How did the newspaper get that story? 756 00:39:49,542 --> 00:39:50,917 Walter Haut. 757 00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:53,333 He was the official public information officer 758 00:39:53,375 --> 00:39:54,792 at the Roswell 509th, 759 00:39:54,875 --> 00:39:56,500 who gave the story to the newspaper. 760 00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:00,917 NARRATOR: Within days, the military walked back the story 761 00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:05,125 and suggested the flying saucer had an earthly origin. 762 00:40:06,375 --> 00:40:08,417 DOLAN: The initial story was that 763 00:40:08,500 --> 00:40:09,542 the Army recovered 764 00:40:09,625 --> 00:40:11,125 one of these flying disks. 765 00:40:11,208 --> 00:40:15,167 Now, by the next day, a lot of other major newspapers 766 00:40:15,250 --> 00:40:17,000 came out with the story that, 767 00:40:17,083 --> 00:40:19,750 "Nope, all a mistake. Just a weather balloon, people." 768 00:40:20,833 --> 00:40:23,292 NARRATOR: Did a flying saucer really crash 769 00:40:23,375 --> 00:40:25,750 outside of Roswell, New Mexico? 770 00:40:25,833 --> 00:40:28,917 Ancient astronaut theorists say yes, 771 00:40:29,000 --> 00:40:32,333 and as evidence, they point to a sensational file 772 00:40:32,375 --> 00:40:35,583 released by the FBI in 2011. 773 00:40:36,625 --> 00:40:39,833 The document contains a 1950 briefing 774 00:40:39,875 --> 00:40:42,500 given to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover 775 00:40:42,542 --> 00:40:44,833 about three flying saucers 776 00:40:44,875 --> 00:40:47,583 that were recovered in New Mexico. 777 00:40:47,667 --> 00:40:50,583 CHILDRESS: So, what's really happening at Roswell? 778 00:40:50,708 --> 00:40:53,792 Was it an extraterrestrial craft? 779 00:40:54,958 --> 00:40:57,833 It's a fantastic thought, but it's possible. 780 00:40:58,875 --> 00:41:03,792 Well, that's the end of our top ten alien craft countdown. 781 00:41:03,875 --> 00:41:06,333 And while it literally flew by, 782 00:41:06,417 --> 00:41:08,167 we're left with a burning question: 783 00:41:09,375 --> 00:41:11,458 Why has mankind witnessed 784 00:41:11,458 --> 00:41:13,500 so many mysterious craft in the sky 785 00:41:13,625 --> 00:41:16,583 for thousands of years? 786 00:41:16,667 --> 00:41:19,917 Perhaps, as we continue to study these encounters, 787 00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:23,667 the truth will finally be revealed. 788 00:41:24,708 --> 00:41:26,333 We are not alone. 789 00:41:26,417 --> 00:41:29,833 We have never been alone. 790 00:41:29,917 --> 00:41:32,208 CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY A+E NETWORKS