Wake Up And Smell The Aliens!

Britain has decided to release all of its "UFO sighting" reports to the public right away rather than waiting 30 years. This should keep a few folks busy for a while.

The ministry's website shows that in 2006 alone there were 97 reported UFO sightings.

The alien peering through the kitchen window was spotted by a couple in Hastings. Another witness reported hearing a massive bang above Stamford Hill, North London, before two large fireballs streaked away.

Sunderland had a silver pyramid which rotated at low speed. And a 'mothership with two smaller orbs' flying above Barlaston in Staffordshire was spotted twice in five days.

And moving into 2007 unidentified flying objects have caught the attention of hundreds of stargazers in Stratford, lighting up the otherwise clear night sky above Shakespeare's birthplace two weeks ago.

In the previous year, 128 sightings included an orange ball of light with 'spiderish legs' and a 'black cigar-shaped object that looked like a disc side-on' and flew 'faster than a fighter jet'.

A log of unidentified flying objects has been kept by the MoD for decades, with some cases investigated for national security reasons.

Previously, it took 30 years for classified records of UFO sightings to be released, leaving enthusiasts with a cold trail to follow up.

But details of every sighting since 1998 were released just a few months after this year's 60th anniversary of the alleged alien crash-landing in Roswell, New Mexico.

(We actually deciphered the Stratford-Upon-Avon event for our faithful readers.) Experts quoted in the article - including UFO enthusiasts - note that 98% of the reports can be explained. Now a sane person would then conclude that the other 2% also have natural explanations. Occam's razor and all that. But, of course, that would be expecting far too much. My favorite quote from the entire article:

However astronomer Sir Patrick Moore, veteran presenter of The Sky At Night, dismisses the chances of aliens visiting Earth.

"There is no intelligent life in our solar system, except possibly on Earth – and I am not so sure about that – so the chances of anyone seeing an alien craft are extremely light," he said.

We agree, sometimes we are not too sure, either!