Preamble: I just re-read a novel I read way back in '98. It's the Doomsday Conspiracy by Sidney Sheldon and it's about the sighting of an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) by a group of tourists and the plot orchestrated by a group within an American Intelligence Agency to find these tourists and eliminate them. It's a very interesting novel but what I found most fascinating was the author's note at the end of the book. Below is an excerpt from the Author's notes

AUTHOR'S NOTE
In researching this novel, I have read numerous books and magazine and newspaper articles citing astronauts who had reportedly had extraterrestrial experiences: Colonel Frank Borman on Gemini 7 supposedly took pictures of a UFO that followed his capsule. Neil Armstrong on Apollo 11 saw two unidentified spacecraft when he landed on the moon.  Buzz Aldrin photographed unidentified spacecraft on the moon.

Colonel L. Gordon Cooper encountered a large UFO on a Project Mercury flight over Perth, Australia, and recorded voices speaking languages later found to belong to no known earth language.

I talked to these men, as well as to other astronauts, and each assured me that the stories were apocryphal rather than apocalyptic, that they had had no experiences of any kind with UFOs. A few days after my telephone conversation with Colonel Gordon Cooper, he called me back.  I returned his call, but he had suddenly become unavailable.  One year later, I managed to acquire a letter written by him, dated November 9, 1978, and discussing UFOs.

I telephoned Colonel cooper again to ask him if the letter was authentic.  This time, he was more forthcoming.  He informed me that it was and that on his journeys into space, he had personally witnessed several flights of UFOs. He also mentioned that other astronauts had had similar experiences that they were warned not to discuss. . . .To read more, download the MsWord document attached to this post, lol.

[His Full notes are attached in an MsWord document to this post]

This leads me to the purpose of this thread and the question. . .Do (you believe) UFO's and Extra-terrestrials exist or is it just the overactive imagination of some people?

here in 9ja I have never seen or experienced such,
Why is it only Americans have been seeing it. - because they are more gullible than the rest of us?

here is a comment from a friend from Philadelphia

This is true. We don't know what this object is. However, of one thing I am certain is that I have seen many flying objects during the course of my life. While some have performed this type of manoeuvre, others have suddenly stopped dead on their tracks and have gone back without making a turn. I have seen the "flying saucer types", the "silver spheres," and the cigar-shaped objects. I don't know what they are, or where they come from, but I have watched them zoom through the skies at homogeneous speeds, hover in mid air without the slightest trace of movement, while others have descended towards my car, then vanished without trace. No, I do not need new glasses, nor am I feeble-minded. I am above average intelligence and was not having a "senior moment" when I saw them. I have been seeing these objects since I was a child. Another thing. Why aren't I surprised to see all the pundits and nay-sayers respond negatively to sightings of objects of unknown description. ! With all the secret societies and self made millionaires in existence, isn't it possible that one of them has stumbled upon a secret technology and has found a way to build unconventional flying objects in some discreet location? (Besides Area 51, that is.) Think about it! Then again, we could be the object of study and speculation by a superior race of unknown origins. There are many intelligent people out there who are not within the mainframe of the business or scientific community. That old phrase, "Beam me up Scotty, there's no life down here" just doesn't fly.
India, Philadelphia, USA