Alien encounters may be older than we think, says Close Encounters whiz
(NEWSER) - Maybe we were never alone. A French UFO expert believes our first experiences with aliens may have occurred centuries ago. Though 90% of ancient reports of baffling sky sightings can be explained away, several others are "provocative" enough to merit further study, says Jacques Valle, who inspired the character of the UFO expert in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It's even possible folklore about elves and angels was initially connected to alien encounters, he adds. "It's a big universe out there. Many astronomers— including myself —strongly believe that there is life throughout the cosmos," he tells MSNBC . More»