by Christy Wilcox
LAS VEGAS (KSNV News3LV) — The Central Intelligence Agency calls them their X-files. Thousands of declassified documents now posted online with photographs, witness accounts, research and newspaper articles. The collection is one of the largest official UFO databases ever to be made available to the public.
Former Army Colonel Dr. John Alexander has been researching UFO’s and other phenomena his entire professional career.
"It's interesting reading and the biggest advantage now is the keyword search,” said Alexander.
The CIA X-files reveal close encounters mostly from the 1940's and 1950’S. The CIA website even ranks them by what they consider the most intriguing accounts of the unknown. They said their top picks would even make Mulder and Scully from the original X File television show interested in the documents.
But will these files provide the public with a collective answer to the unknown? Alexander said it is not likely.
“Most of the cases are known, and the key cases even have books written about them. I don't think you're going to find a lot new,” said Alexander.
Still, researchers and alien believers hope to open a door to the previously unexplained, but the question remains - has our technology advanced enough to understand what might be encountered?
"It's only been over a century that we could fly and in that time frame we went to the moon,” said Alexander.
He cites Area 51 as a reason he doesn’t believe those files have new information helping to answer questions about UFO’s and extraterrestrial life. For example, the files don’t expose information about the rumored alien and UFO research happening there. Still skeptical how research can continue, he believes there is life outside earth.
"If the question is is there another life somewhere in the universe. The answer is absolutely and that's not a belief system that's pure math,” said Alexander.
But UFO witnesses often struggle with the idea of coming forward. Dr. Lynne Kitei researches unidentified flying objects. She first captured 35 mm images of a mysterious craft hovering in Phoenix in the mid-1990s.
"I am a healthy skeptic until I saw what was so extraordinary and technically advanced right in front of my eyes,” said Kitei.
Now, almost 20 years later, Kitei is happy to talk about her close encounter because she says she's not alone. It was March 13, 1997, when Kitei and thousands of others spotted a phenomenon known as "The Phoenix Lights.” The mysterious vessel was spotted in the skies above Henderson, Nevada to Phoenix. What they were remains a mystery.
"There were two commercial airline pilots that reported that one of these mile-wide crafts was hovering and covering Las Vegas,” said Kitei.
Last week, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope discovered a system of seven Earth-size planets around a single star. Scientists say three of those planets are located within the "habitable" zone and could have water.
"With this amazing system we know that there must be many more potentially life-bearing planets out there just waiting to be found,” said Prof. Sara Seager with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The solar system may be 235 trillion miles from Earth, but NASA scientists say when it comes to the vastness of space, that's in our galaxy and not so far away. Could decades of research, reports, sightings, and speculation find a collective answer? On Nov. 15, 2016, a mysterious light in the sky appeared near Blue Diamond. Steven Barone captured the image with his camera.
"Just hovering in one spot for a while and then it began to move in towards Las Vegas," said Barone.
Barone watches for UFOs as a hobby from his backyard. This time, he wasn't as impressed by the video he posted until a message came from an anonymous witness who recognized that flying object.
"It wasn't flying like an airplane, it was spinning and tumbling in the sky," said Barone.
Barone, once a UFO skeptic, knew he had captured a special moment after receiving a drawing from the man.
"He saw two amber spheres eject out of it," said Barone.
LINKS
For more on the “Phoenix Lights” spotted from Henderson, Nevada to Phoenix, Arizona click here.
For UFO’s spotted in the Las Vegas valley a peak at Steve Barone’s video, click here.