The following are among the most documented events in the history of UFO sightings on Earth, some of which relate directly to "Dark Skies"
1,500 BC - Pharaoh Thutmose III:
In Egypt, the Pharaoh Thutmose III sees silent, foul-smelling circles
of fire and flying discs in the sky.
600 BC - Ezekiel:
The prophet Ezekiel reported the following incident in the land of
the Chaldeans by the river Chebar: ....And I looked and behold a whirlwind
came out of the north, a great cloud and a fire unfolding itself, and a
brightness were about it, and out of the mist thereof as the colour of
amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the midst thereof came
the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance:
they had the likeness of a man. And everyone had four faces, and everyone
had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their
feet was like the sole of a calf's foot; and they sparkled like the colour
of burnished brass...When they went they went upon their four sides; and
they turned not as they went. As for their wings, they were so high that
they were dreadful; and their wings were full of eyes round about them
four. And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them; and
when the living creatures were lifted up from the Earth the wheels
were lifted up.
800 AD - Peru:
Aerial "landing strips" are built in the Peruvian
Andes.
January, 1878 - "Flying Saucers":
The term "saucer" was used by a Texan framer to describe
an object seen over his farm. The term was popularized in 1948 when Kenneth
Arnold saw a formation of objects over the Cascade Mountains of Washington
State and described them as moving "like a saucer would if you skipped
it across water." This image inspired a local reporter to coin the
term "flying saucer."
June, 1908 - Siberia:
A mysterious fireball exploded over Tunguska in Siberia, creating shock
waves felt miles away and setting 1,200 acres on fire. In 1927, Russian
scientists first visit the sight of the blast. They find no meteorite fragments,
but discover unusually high levels of radio activity in the Tunguska soil.
Speculation centers on the theory that a crippled alien spacecraft's
nuclear reactor exploded on impact. This incident is thought to be the
first modern crash by Hive spacecraft.
August, 1915 - Hill 60:
During World War I, a regiment of the British Army, the 1st 4th Norfolk,
disappeared in an attempt to take Hill 60 at Suvla Bay near Gallipoli.
In front of 22 witnesses, the regiment -- over 800 men -- marched into
a strange formation of lenticular clouds hovering over Hill 60 and was
never seen again. Posted as missing, the regiment was thought to have
been captured. After the war, Britain demanded the return of the regiment,
but the Turks denied any knowledge of the regiment's existence. No trace
of the regiment has ever been found.
July, 1947 - The Roswell Incident:
After hearing a loud explosion, William "Mac" Brazel
discovered wreckage scattered across his ranch. He reported the
debris to the local sheriff, George Wilcox, who informed Roswell Army Air
Base. Brazel was held by order of Major Jesse Marcel while debris collected
from the ranch was flown to Wright Patterson Air Force Base. On July 8,
1947, Public Relations Officer Lt. Walter Haut issued the following press
release on order from the base commander:
The many rumors regarding the flying disc became a reality yesterday when the intelligence office of 509th Bomb Group of the Eight Air Force, Roswell Army Air Field, was fortunate enough to gain possession of a disc through the cooperation of one of the local ranchers and the sheriff's office of Chaves County. The flying object landed on a ranch near Roswell sometime last week. Action was immediately taken and the disc was picked up at the rancher's home. It was inspected at the Roswell Army Air Field and subsequently loaned by Major Marcel to higher headquarters.
Later, the Army's official position was changed to say that the material recovered was the wreckage of a weather balloon. Major Marcel said the material he had seen was thin and foil-like but would not dent and that there was also a material similar to balsa wood which would not burn. He described hieroglyphics on some debris, but denied seeing alien bodies, though, subsequent reports have stated that four aliens -- known as Grays for the color of their skin -- were on the flying disc. Three of the Grays were dead on arrival, the fourth was kept alive briefly at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, but communication was not achieved.
August, 1947 - Majestic 12:
"Majestic 12 -- also known as Majic-12 and MJ-12 -- is established
by special classified executive order of President Truman.
July, 1952 - Veronica, Argentina:
Hundreds of residents of Veronica, Argentina witnessed six discs
circling above the town, then disappearing into the night sky. This
sighting was within hours of a similar report from Captain Paul Carpenter
near Denver. Carpenter reported the craft was traveling at 3,000 miles
per hour, making it possible for the saucer to have appeared in both locations.
1955 - General Douglas MacArthur:
General MacArthur is believed to have been involved in establishing
the Interplanetary Phenomenon Unit (IPU), which was formed to investigate
crashed and retrieved flying saucers. In 1955 MacArthur stated:
"The nations of the world will have to unite for the next war will be an interplanetary war. The nations of the Earth must some day make a common front against attack by people from other planets."
This statement has led to intense speculation that the IPU uncovered more facts about UFOs than has ever been revealed.
April, 1956 - Capt. Raymond E. Ryan:
Capt. Ryan and his first officer William Neff were flying from Albany,
New York to Syracuse. At a height of 6,000 feet, the two observed a brilliant
white light like an approaching aircraft with landing lights on. Ryan estimated
that the object was moving at at approximately 1,000 miles per hour --
faster than any object of the day. The UFO glowed orange in front
of them. Ryan and Neff reported the encounter to Griffiss Air Force Base.
The base confirmed that they also could see an orange object nearby. This
sighting lasted over twenty minutes and was also witnessed by the flight
attendant, Phyllis Reynolds.
August, 1956 - Bentwaters/Lakenheath, England:
The RAF/USAF in Bentwater/Lakenheath in Suffolk made radar contact
with a UFO using three ground-based radars. A confirmation on aerial
radar by a Venom night fighter and visual sightings from the ground and
the air make this case one the most celebrated contacts of modern times.
Radar indicated that the objects were moving up at 4,000 miles per hour
-- higher speeds than any aircraft of the time could have achieved.
September, 1957 - Ubatuba, Brazil:
Material was recovered from a flying saucer which was reported to have
crashed. The analysis indicated that the material was a magnesium so pure
as to be beyond the capabilities of production on Earth. Several other
UFOs have been reported to have been constructed of pure magnesium. However,
fragments of the Ubatuba saucer have been lost.
May, 1960 - Francis Gary Powers:
The U-2 plane piloted by Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union
on May 1, 1960. Soviet Premiere Nikita Khrushchev tells the world that
his country has shot down a spy plane. Powers pleads guilty to spy charges
in a Moscow trial and was sentenced to ten years. Speculation is that Powers
was in pursuit of a UFO and was given permission by Majestic-12
to overfly the Soviet Union. During pursuit, the UFO shoots down Powers'
plane. To facilitate the cover-up, the United States is willing to accept
blame and let the Soviets take credit for downing Powers. In 1962, Powers
was released in an American/Soviet spy trade.
September, 1961 - Betty and Barney Hill:
Driving to their home in New Hampshire, Betty and Barney Hill notice
a bright light in the sky. Radar reports at the nearby Pease Air
Force Base also record something in the air at that time. The Hills examine
the light through binoculars, and see a structured object with flashing
lights. Barney walks across a field for a closer look, and sees beings
looking back at him. Frightened, he and Betty drive home, arriving
two hours later then expected. They cannot account for the missing time
(a common phenomenon among abductees) until they undergo regression hypnosis.
The couple describe being stopped by the UFO and taken aboard the saucer
for medical examination. Due to the impressive documentation and the confirming
radar trace from Pease Air Force Base, the Hill case is one of the most
famous on record.
November, 1965 - The Great Northeast Blackout:
Eight states -- Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont -- lost power in this power
failure. Although a faulty automatic relay device at a plant near Niagara
Falls is blamed, there is evidence that UFOs can cause power failures in
the national electricity grid systems, although this may only be a side
effect rather than an intentional act. Specifically, this power failure
is thought to have been instigated by the Hive to prevent the airing of
the "Monkey Film" on national television. In December of the
same year, the grid systems failed in New Mexico and Texas following UFO
sightings in those areas.