📝 #8 Area 51

Area 51 is located 120 miles (200 kilometers) northwest of Las Vegas, near the small towns of Rachel and Hiko. The title "Area 51" seems to come from the designation the base had on Atomic Energy Commission maps, with this name sticking in the mind of the public but mostly unused by the military.

Established in 1955 as part of the Nevada Test and Training Range complex, the area was also given the name "Paradise Ranch" in an attempt by aerospace company Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin) to draw employees to the base.

Today, the base and the wider Nevada Test and Training Range complex are part of the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), with the CIA referring to it as the Groom Lake and Homey Airport. Though satellite imagery of the site had been restricted, since 2018 the base has been visible on Google Maps. 

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In what state can you find Area 51?

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In what decade was Area 51 established?

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Satellite imagery of Area 51 has historically been restricted but it has been visible on Google Maps since 2018.

Benjamin Radford is an American folklorist, writer, investigator and skeptic who's authored more than 20 books, including "Scientific Paranormal Investigation: How to Solve Unexplained Mysteries;" "Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction and Folklore;" and "Mysterious New Mexico: Miracles, Magic, and Monsters in the Land of Enchantment." He's also deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirer magazine and has written several articles regarding the conspiracy theories surrounding Area 51.

"The base itself is fairly small, but the restricted area around it is over 90,000 acres [36,000 hectares]  —  partly to prevent prying eyes and partly because they need to test classified aircraft," Radford told Space.com. "It's mostly conspiracy theorists and media who call it Area 51. To the U.S. government, it's simply the Nevada Test and Training Range, part of Edwards Air Force Base."

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According to investigator and skeptic Benjamin Radford (the same author who cast doubt on the existence of the Bridgewater Triangle), what are the two main reasons why Area 51 has to be so large?

The U.S military finally acknowledged the existence of Area 51 in 2013 after a formerly classified CIA document detailing the history of the U-2 spy plane was obtained by the National Security Archive at George Washington University.

But that acknowledgment doesn't mean that a visit to the base is advisable. Radford said that there are still legitimate government and military reasons for keeping the base's activities secret.

"The military classifies Area 51 as a 'Military Operating Area.' On the ground, you'll encounter stern signs and armed guards patrolling the fenced perimeters guarded by buried motion sensors, cameras, guards and so on  —  plus signs warning that deadly force is authorized," Radford explained. "The borders of Area 51 are not fenced but are marked with orange poles and warning signs."

Such signs tell visitors that photos aren't allowed and that trespassing on the property will result in a fine, he added.

Originally used as a testing site for the U-2 spy plane, the base would go on to be used for the testing of other well-known aircraft such as the Archangel-12, the SR-71 Blackbird and the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter.

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The U.S. military has never acknowledged the existence of Area 51.

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Much of the history of Area 51 had been secret because this location was used to develop the U-2 spy plane, a mission that had previously been classified.

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There are no longer any legitimate government reasons to keep Area 51 secret to the public.

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Deadly force is authorized for anyone who trespasses into Area 51.

The testing of new and secretive military aircraft is likely responsible for much of the connection between Area 51 and UFOs, especially when considering that the term "UFO" doesn't directly refer to alien spacecraft, despite how it is often perceived in pop culture. 

"It's true that strange lights and aircraft can sometimes be spotted in the area, so it's an obvious leap to UFOs, but of course, new aircraft might look identical," Radford explained. "The basic, flawed premise behind the Area 51 mythology can be boiled down to this: The government won't reveal what's going on there, so it must be something ultra-super-amazingly secret."

What we call Area 51, he added, is only one of many military bases, national laboratories and government scientific research centers across the country that deal with classified  — even Top Secret  — information, and where workers and visitors need security clearances.

"There's no reason to think that anything UFO-related is going on," Radford said.

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According to Radford, what is the basic, flawed premise behind Area 51 conspiracy theories?

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Area 51 is the only secretive military base in the U.S. where workers and visitors need security clearance.

Aside from the sightings of strange craft, Area 51 mythology was enforced in 1989 when a man named Robert Lazar claimed that he worked on extraterrestrial technology inside the base. 

Lazar told Las Vegas television reporter George Knapp that he had viewed autopsy photographs of aliens inside Area 51 and that the US government used the facility to examine recovered alien spacecraft. Lazar himself was discredited, but his claims resulted in numerous government conspiracy theories, most of which involve extraterrestrial life.

"A lot of the legend has been fueled by hoaxers like Robert Lazar, who appeared in the 1980s telling a story to TV stations that he worked there and saw alien bodies and crashed flying saucers first-hand," Radford recalled. "It got a lot of attention, but it was later revealed that he fabricated not only his employment at Nellis [Air Force Base in southern Nevada] but indeed his entire background. Almost nothing of what he said was true."

Lazar had set the ball rolling, however. No matter how fallacious the rumors of alien tech and Area 51 were, the connection was cemented into the public consciousness and pop culture.

Source: What is Area 51?

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1

In what state can you find Area 51?

In what decade was Area 51 established?

Satellite imagery of Area 51 has historically been restricted but it has been visible on Google Maps since 2018.

According to investigator and skeptic Benjamin Radford (the same author who cast doubt on the existence of the Bridgewater Triangle), what are the two main reasons why Area 51 has to be so large?

The U.S. military has never acknowledged the existence of Area 51.

Much of the history of Area 51 had been secret because this location was used to develop the U-2 spy plane, a mission that had previously been classified.

There are no longer any legitimate government reasons to keep Area 51 secret to the public.

Deadly force is authorized for anyone who trespasses into Area 51.

According to Radford, what is the basic, flawed premise behind Area 51 conspiracy theories?

Area 51 is the only secretive military base in the U.S. where workers and visitors need security clearance.

Check off all of the following that are TRUE of Robert Lazar?

Check off the two main purposes of this video.

What point is the journalist trying to make in this last segment?

The woman in this video appears to trust the government.

What two points was the journalist trying to make in this last segment?

What is meant by this statement: "there is a kernel of truth in what they are saying but the extrapolations are wrong"?

This journalist believes that we must always trust the government because we have no evidence that the government has ever misled us.

When does this journalist believe that it is a problem to distrust the government?

Check off all of the reasons why this journalist believes that human beings are likely to engage in conspiratorial thinking.

Check off all of the reasons why this journalist says that conspiratorial thinking makes sense in many ways?

The "disclosure movement" is made up of people who believe that the government has access to alien technology and think that the government should disclose this to the public.

What "trap" did the interviewer say it's easy for journalists (and all people) to fall into?

According to this interviewer, most humans are prone to something called "confirmation bias," which is when we seek information that confirms what we already believe.

With the advent of social media, we spend more time getting information in "echo chambers," which happens when we only encounter information that supports our already established beliefs.

According to this last segment, how do many online conspiracy theorists view themselves?

What points did the journalist try to make in this last segment?