World UFO Day 2018 is today – how is the date marked and why does it commemorate the Roswell UFO incident?

WORLD UFO day is upon us once again and those hunting for extra terrestrial life will be pointing their telescopes skyward once more.

But what exactly is the day all about and does it celebrate the Roswell incident? Here’s what we know.

What is world UFO day?
World UFO day is an awareness day for people to gaze at the heavens scanning for unidentified flying objects.

The day is observed on July 2 every year and was founded by the UFO hunter Haktan Akdogan.

The day is supposed to be a day for everyone to pause and ponder the possibility we are not alone in the universe.

WorldUFODay.com’s creators said: “World UFO day is the day dedicated to the existence of Unearthly/Unidentified Flying Objects. The first World UFO Day was celebrated in 2001.

“There are several reasons why this day has found its way into the world.

“One of the first and foremost reasons is to raise awareness about the undoubted existence of UFOs and with that intelligent beings from outer space.

“Also this day is used to encourage governments to unclassify their knowledge about sightings throughout history.

“Many governments, the US government for instance, are believed to have gained exclusive information about UFOs through their military departments.”

How is the day marked?
In the past World UFO Day was celebrated on both July 2 and June 24 but the World UFO Day Organisation (WUFODO) has since consolidated the celebrations to one date.

The organisation hopes to see a future were UFOs are publicly discussed.

Ahead of the event, WUFODO has shared a collection of UFO pictures on its website, which it believes are definite proof of alien existence.

Among the pictures is “the oldest UFO photograph ever taken” – a snap of an alleged flying saucer over the summit of Mount Washington, USA, in 1870.

WUFODO said: “Certainly it was difficult to manipulate photos at that time, and remember, there were no flying objects then; at least, not from this world.

“Thanks to a reader, we now have the original ‘stereo’ photo.”