Asking someone if they believe in aliens might seem like an innocent enough question, but it’s actually really loaded. Believing in the possibility of extraterrestrial life existing somewhere is definitely not the same as believing in abductions, flying saucers, and government cover-ups. As many UFO fans celebrate the anniversary of Roswell, consider this: How come there have been fewer reports of flying saucers and alien abductions in the age of the camera phone?

Many true believers of little grey aliens consider July 8, 1947, to be a seminal moment, as it was the official date of the so-called “Roswell Incident.” According to lore, alleged real aliens crashed in Roswell, New Mexico, and were quickly hidden by the U.S. government. If you believe that alien visitors did in fact crash-land on U.S. soil on that date, that’s okay. But consider this: Most of the eye-witness accounts of the Roswell crash are not only contradictory. They also don’t provide any kind of scientific body of information for any one study. In his 1975 essay, “The Rocketing Dutchman,” Isaac Asimov elucidated the problem with considering only eye-witness accounts as “proof” of flying saucers. “Eyewitness evidence by a small number of people uncorroborated by any other sort of evidence is worthless,” Dr. Asimov wrote. “There is not a single mystical belief that is not supported by numerous cases of eyewitness evidence.”

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As Asimov explained, real scientific inquiry requires impartial data. Of course, devotees and fans of The X-Files who have mistaken it for a series of non-fiction documentaries will tell you that the lack of evidence supports the existence of a cover-up. Asimov calls this kind of circular argumentation “one of the chief delights of the intellectually feeble.”

In recent years, the phenomena of a flying saucer sighting and alien abduction accounts have been viewed more soberly as sociological human quirks rather than fuzzy science fake news. Writer Jack Womack explained that his collection of UFO ephemera and cheekily titled 2016 book Flying Saucers are Real! were an attempt to catalog the beliefs of those obsessed with outlandish accounts.

“I can study TB without catching it, preferably,” Womack explained. “And I can be a student of the Bible without being a Christian.” Womack’s work on cataloging writing about flying saucer obsessions in the 20th century is exhausting. Recently, Inverse got back in touch with the author to discuss this important Roswell anniversary. This led to an important and relevant insight: “Going by both research and empirical observation, the number of UFO reports dropped off significantly in the early 21st century,” Womack said. He attributes this, at least partially, to the rise of camera phones.

Which makes sense. Arguably, the Eighties and Nineties were the peak of UFO interest in the United States. Proof? The vast majority of famous books published about UFOs and government cover-ups — most notably The Roswell Incident by Charles Berlitz and William L. Moore — were published in these two decades. And yet, once every regular citizen had a camera on them at all times in their phones, reports of UFO sightings suddenly dropped off. Did the aliens get camera-shy?

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In 2012, Joe Nickell and James McGaha outlined their theory of “Roswellian Syndrome” for the Skeptical Inquirer. Nickell and McGaha echo sci-fi author William Gibson’s observation that flying saucer theories are meme-like, insofar as they will experience a media bandwagon period, as well as a period of not being so interesting to the mainstream. They also predict that a reboot of everyone you know suddenly believing in Roswell is coming, too.

Basically, because it hasn’t been hip to believe in abductions for a while, this can cause these kinds of beliefs to come back with a vengeance. “During a period of submergence, the mythologizing tendency has been at work followed by a reemergence—rather like a new, more virulent strain of a virus.”

Nickell and McGaha point out that contemporary “UFOlogists are always looking for a Holy Grail case to verify their belief.” And the problem there is that a holy grail could easily exist. If only those abducted by aliens would remember to get a clear image of saucer men captured on their iPhones.

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Travis Walton talks about his extraterrestrial encounter at the International UFO Congress on Feb. 17, 2018.

Scottsdale became a landing spot this weekend for those who believe in UFOs, alien abductions and large-scale government cover-ups.

A panel Saturday at the International UFO Congress in Scottsdale gave accounts of what some say were extraordinary contacts with extraterrestrial life.

Although UFO "sightings" often turn out to be explicable phenomena, such as the streak of light caused by a recent SpaceX rocket launch in California, the U.S. Department of Defense has confirmed previous funding of UFO research.

While no human contact with aliens has ever been verified by the government, attendees at the Saturday conference say it's clear that we are not alone in the universe.

MORE: If U.S. government is tracking UFO sightings, Arizona is fertile ground

And if you get a rush from hunting for any sign of paranormal evidence, Arizona is the place to be, they say.

Travis Walton, an Arizona resident and one of the speakers, inspired the 1993 science-fiction film "Fire in the Sky." He said he believes he was abducted by a UFO near Snowflake on Nov. 5, 1975"

He was in a truck, returning with co-workers from a logging job in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, when, he said, they saw a bright light hovering over a break in the trees.

Once they got closer to the light, Walton said, there was "no doubt of what we were seeing," and one co-worker exclaimed, "It's a flying saucer."

Walton said he had an "impulse to see it" and threw open the truck door, getting closer to the craft for a better look.

"It was kind of a foolish move in retrospect," Walton said, drawing laughter from the audience.

Walton said he felt like it was his own impulse that drew him there, and not anything extraterrestrial.

It was both 'frightening' and 'beautiful'

The closer he got, Walton said, the more frightened he and his co-workers became.

"This was not only frightening, but it was beautiful," Walton said. "It just looked smooth as glass. It was glowing, it was shiny and metallic. The surface was so shiny that even though it was giving off light, it was also reflecting its surroundings."

After a few moments, Walton said, the UFO began to move, and the sound it was making got louder, filling the night air.

Walton said he decided to run, and that's when he heard a powerful blast.

His co-workers fled the scene, he said, leaving him behind.

"It was the most commonsense thing to do, was to get the (heck) out of there," Walton said.

Former law-enforcement officer Chuck Ellison and his wife were about to have supper at their Heber home when the phone rang.

On the other end of the line was a frantic voice. Ellison drove to meet Walton's six "hysterical" co-workers.

Ellison, who was also at Saturday's panel alongside Walton, said that several of Walton's co-workers were crying.

Finally, one of the co-workers told Ellison that a flying saucer had abducted Walton and that they had left the scene.

"I said that was kinda a sorry thing to do," Ellison said to laughter from the audience.

The story continues

Walton said he was missing for five days, and his co-workers were accused of inventing the UFO story.

Others said that Walton was playing a hoax on his family and the surrounding community.

Walton's brother, Don, was the third speaker on the Saturday panel and said his mother showed up at his house around 3 a.m. Nov. 6, saying that Walton was missing.

"She was hysterical, and my mother did not do hysterical," Don Walton said.

Over the next few days, media hounded the Waltons, demanding interviews, Don Walton said.

An incredible tale

The Arizona Republic sifted through more than 100 reports from the Project Blue Book files, searching for the interesting, the bizarre and the unbelievable stories from Arizona's UFO sightings. Many of the names and specific locations within the reports were redacted by the U.S. Air Force. Thinkstock

4 p.m. July 7, 1947- The 30-year-old Mr. Rhodes of

4 p.m. July 7, 1947- The 30-year-old Mr. Rhodes of Phoenix heard the approach of an incoming jet . He stepped out his backdoor to look, but saw nothing. After several seconds however, a gray disc appeared over the horizon to the northeast. Mr. Rhodes ran to his workshop, grabbed his camera and snapped two pictures as the disc dipped under the clouds again. The disc then disappeared over the western horizon. The entire event lasted about 60 seconds. United States Air Force

5:45 p.m. April 28, 1949- A Tucson florist stood with

5:45 p.m. April 28, 1949- A Tucson florist stood with two friends, when a silver object appeared over the rim of the Catalina Mountains. "It appeared sausage like in shape," the florist noted in his firsthand account. It had no wings, windows, fins or visible openings, facts corroborated by all three men. The sausage seemed to revolve in a slow roll, similar to an airplane at speeds estimated about 500 miles per hour, and at a height of about 5 to 10 miles above the Earth. The sighting lasted for about 12 minutes. United States Air Force

2:30 p.m. May 9, 1949- A U.S. Air Force sergeant spotted

2:30 p.m. May 9, 1949- A U.S. Air Force sergeant spotted two flying objects while reclining on the front lawn of his home in northeast Tucson. The objects were flat, silver, reflective and "perfectly round." They appeared in the southwest of the sky, about the size of washtubs, approximately 10,000 feet in the air traveling between 750 and 1,000 miles per hours.. The pair headed northwest, banked to the left, then abruptly to the right, fading from view over the Catalina Mountains. United States Air Force

7:45 a.m. April 3, 1952- A civilian pilot instructor landed at Marana Air Base. While taxiing, the instructor noticed an object described as a "bright star" in the morning sky. The pilot instructor continued to keep his eye on the object. "It never moved the slightest fraction in relation to the canopy of my aircraft," he said in the report. After about 45 minutes of observation, the object suddenly vanished. "The object was bright and shone like polished aluminum. I've been flying for 25 years and never saw anything like it. It was weird," Logan said in a news article about the incident. United States Air Force

7:15 p.m. Jan. 27, 1953- A Cottonwood man stood outside his home watching an airplane fly overhead when he noticed the illuminated object.It appeared as a yellow-orange light, larger and brighter than any of the stars in the night sky. The man ran inside, grabbed a pair of binoculars and returned to see the light heading south. Through the binoculars, he could see the object was made of two lights, one brighter light near the head of the object, and a second fainter light near what he assumed was the tail. The man followed the object for about five minutes before it faded into the night. United States Air Force

Dec. 23, 1954- Kenneth Hite was a first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson. Hite was flying a local combat air patrol mission when he encountered an unidentified object near Nogales. He was flying at an altitude of 15,000 feet, and noted the object was about 5,000 to 10,000 feet above him. Hite followed the object, which appeared about 10 miles ahead of him, he said. He continued pursuit at an altitude of 28,000 feet and a speed of 350 knots. After reaching Douglas, it turned south and Hite, again, gave chase. Not long after, Hike began to run low on fuel and had to return to base. United States Air Force

Oct. 17, 1955- Reports from a missing case file indicate that approximately 12 pale, yellow lights appeared over Yuma. The observer, described as a military source, said the formation of the pale lights was a wide "V" at a high altitude. The lights grew dimmer, smaller and faded away over the course of about three to four seconds. Air Force conclusion: The duration and height of the sightings led military officials to believe the observer saw a meteor shower. United States Air Force

7:45 p.m. April 8, 1958- Two men in their 20s saw an unidentified flying object speeding from north to south while driving west on Main Street in Mesa. At first, the men said it had the appearance of a falling star with an approximate size of a grapefruit held at arm's length. What was peculiar, according to the report, was the object's movement and speed. The light rapidly descended to about 1,500 feet over the city of Mesa then slowly pulled into a steep climb until it performed a near vertical ascent, all the while accelerating. The object disappeared from view after a total of 10 seconds. United States Air Force

6:27 p.m. Oct. 19, 1958- A group of astronomers set

6:27 p.m. Oct. 19, 1958- A group of astronomers set up about nine miles outside of Benson to watch the Russian space satellite, Sputnik 1, and the third-stage rocket that helped it get into orbit. The observers instead saw a bright object over the southeastern horizon. It traveled rapidly across the sky then vanished out of view over the north-northwestern horizon after about five minutes.It was traveling in the opposite direction of the satellite's projected path, and was much too bright to be airplane lights, the observer wrote in the account. Dr. Bruce Maccabee

6:20 p.m. Feb. 24, 1960-The sun had just set behind the mountains when a 31-year-old Tucson man and his wife encountered a white, globular light while driving outside of downtown. He pulled to the side of the road to more closely examine the object. The object appeared over the mountains to the west, heading east over the city. As it flew, the object made drastic maneuvers, changing direction and slanting. After about 5 minutes, the diagonal streaks broke off the initial band of light, circling the object, then absorbed back into the original band. It appeared to glide over the sky, gently rising and then fading away to the south. United States Air Force

4:30 a.m. Aug. 10, 1964- An object with a trail of

4:30 a.m. Aug. 10, 1964- An object with a trail of whitish-yellow flames and sparks skittered across the early-morning sky over Phoenix, according to reports from civilian and military observers. Two of the reports indicated the object looked like a fireball and could have been a meteor. Most agree, the source was very bright and came from a single object. No sound was reported. Most on the ground observed the object heading from west to east, but two flight crews reported the object moving southwest to northwest. United States Air Force

Sept. 7, 1965- A Tempe liquor-store clerk watched as

Sept. 7, 1965- A Tempe liquor-store clerk watched as six whitish-yellow objects flew low over the city as if they were going to land, before disappearing to the southeast over the mountains. Each of the objects were oval-shaped, and had windows that emanated a pinkish light, according to the clerk. Two of the lights were side by side, and four together. They emitted a high-pitched hum that hurt the ears of the observer, and gave her a headache.The officer producing the report noted that the clerk was convinced UFOs exist and had seen numerous UFOs during the four years prior. The clerk also said she had hypersensitive hearing that allows her to hear UFOs before she sees them. United States Air Force

Oct. 25, 1965- Nine miles southeast of Luke Air Force

Oct. 25, 1965- Nine miles southeast of Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, a military official watched the night sky from home. The observer noticed a bright object to the southwest. At first, the observer thought it resembled a star or planet. It oscillated from white to orange and black to white. Then it began to move. It changed directions from south to north, then moved to the southeast and east. It changed elevation, disappeared, then reappeared an hour after its first appearance. The observer described the movements as "erratic" and emphasized it moved at high speed. United States Air Force

8:05 p.m. Nov. 26, 1965- A husband, wife and son standing

8:05 p.m. Nov. 26, 1965- A husband, wife and son standing outside watched an explosion in the sky similar to Fourth of July fireworks, except that the rocket burst into a perfect circle of blue starlike objects.The cluster of 30 to 50 objects then moved south over Phoenix. Ten to 15 seconds after the first sighting, the cluster began "swarming like bees, resolving into two undulating 'V' formations," then melding back into a single V before disappearing while heading due south, according to a summary of the event from the husband, who included his qualifications as an astronomer and a teacher of aircraft identification during World War II. Dr. Bruce Maccabee

5:40 p.m. Oct. 9, 1967- A 13-year-old boy said he watched

5:40 p.m. Oct. 9, 1967- A 13-year-old boy said he watched a UFO take off from the desert. He described the object as looking like a large, silver water heater with 2 legs, each fitted with a curved pad. The boy said the UFO made a humming sound as it took off, and left an indescribable taste in his mouth. The report includes pictures of impressions in the sand the boy alleges were created by the UFO. The Aerial Phenomena Branch received the report, took pictures and soil samples, then sent them to the Ohio River Division Laboratory for testing. In turn, the lab found that the UFO could not possibly have been the size or dimensions described by the boy. United States Air Force

While his family was dealing with chaos on the ground, Walton said, he believes he was contending with aliens in the extraterrestrial aircraft that had abducted him.

Walton said he lost consciousness when the blast hit him on the ground before he was taken aboard. But he said he eventually regained consciousness and woke up to see two figures on board.

The first creature fit the description of stereotypical alien depictions — small, hairless creatures with a large head and very large eyes, Walton said.

The other creature appeared humanlike and came aboard as Walton regained consciousness.

The next thing Walton said he recalls is being dropped off in Heber, where he found a pay phone to contact his family. It was snowing and about 20 degrees, Ellison said.

Walton says he believes he saw the craft departing.

"I was wondering why they didn't take me home to my house!" Walton said, prompting another round of laughter from the audience.

Walton said the movie "Fire in the Sky" deviates from what he recalls when it implies that Walton was dropped back on Earth completely naked.

"I was fully clothed, but that's Hollywood for you," he said. "They gotta have that nude scene!"

'The townspeople put us through hell'

The fabled Project Blue Book, the Air Force's files on UFO sightings and investigations, have tantalized and frustrated extraterrestrial enthusiasts for decades. But this past week, nearly 130,000 pages of declassified UFO records were put online. VPC

Although Walton made light of some aspects of his alleged experience, he was serious about the scrutiny that he and his family endured following his return.

"Quite literally, the townspeople put us through hell," Don Walton said of his family's experiences as they stayed in the sleepy town of Snowflake. "We were shunned, we were taunted, teased, called liars."

'We're not alone in the universe'

In the years that have passed since 1975, Walton said, it appears that more people believe his story and give credence to the notion of extraterrestrial life.

His main message, though, is for the naysayers.

"So many people form an opinion and then gather all the so-called facts they can to support the theory," he said. "Instead, they should gather the facts and let facts dictate what their theory becomes."

Walton said his experience has been costly to him and his family. He said he'd rather it never happened, but it did.

"It's become my mission to promote understanding so that people will know that this is real, these things do happen and we're not alone in the universe," Walton said. "That shouldn't be alarming, either; that should just be something that we're aware of."

Air Guard unit dropped flares on night Valley saw the lights The Arizona Republic