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Hawaii's first astronomical observatory is located on the summit of Haleakalā, the park's eponymous volcano and Maui's tallest summit (10,023 feet tall). It's located above one-third of Earth's atmosphere, and thanks to its setting, it's one of the most significant observatories in operation.

Founded in 1974, Heaven's Gate was an American UFO religious millenarian cult based near San Diego, California. In 1997, police discovered the bodies of 39 members of the cult who had all taken their own lives to leave this world and travel to another that they believed contained extraterrestrial life.

In February 1942, soldiers stationed around 120 miles from Los Angeles spotted an unidentified flying vessel zipping in and out of view. Thinking that it might be an enemy aircraft—it was the middle of World War II, after all—the United States military plunged the entire city of Los Angeles into darkness to be better able to spot the aircraft, according to Smithsonian Magazine

On the night of December 5, 1948, two separate plane crews, one from the United States Air Force, reported seeing a giant green ball of fire just east of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The unrelated crews each reported this mysterious ball of fire to the authorities. One crew reported that, at times, the ball of fire seemed to come straight for the aircraft, causing the pilot to swerve to avoid it, according to the Nuclear Connection Project.