So We're All Aussie Aliens?

Last week, the small town of Marlinja in Australia's Northern Territory claims to have had otherworldly visitors. According to some of the 112 residents, four UFOs descended upon the town. Bright red lights were accompanied by a loud, strange sound which shook the ground. Janie Dixon's phone rang, but when she tried to answer it, the line went dead.

Surprisingly, UFOs have been spotted many times in Australia. And some people claim to know the strange connection aliens might have with this land.

It was where they began populating the earth.

A well-known feature of the Northern Territory is Uluru, or Ayers Rock. Hidden withing the crevices are ancient Aboriginal paintings and inscriptions. One of these has ufologists talking.

"Once upon a time, in a distant past, a huge red 'egg' had difficulties to safely reach the ground and crashed. Out of the 'egg' emerged white-skinned beings, followed by their children. The adults had problems adapting to the Earth's atmosphere and died. The children managed to survive."

So, according to Aboriginal beliefs, something landed in the Outback a very long time ago and brought with it life as we know it. According to Bill Chalker, connections with aliens still exist in rituals and legends passed along in some tribes to this day. Early settlers even reported strange phenomena around the continent.

Then, of course, there's the question about Uluru itself. It, along with three other nearby formations, resemble triangles. Some ufologists and enthusiasts say these do not resemble natural structures. In satellite images of the anomalies, the triangles appear to have similar characteristics and are even oriented in the same direction.

Uluru itself is believed by Aborigines to have an energy source, Tjukurpa, beneath it. There have been a few times in history the rock has changed color.

Is this proof of the past visitation of extra-terrestrials? The question is still unanswered and hotly debated. Many natural structures almost appear to be man-made. And as for the native tales passed down, there could be more symbolism than fact to the words. Looking up into the vastness of the night sky, it's easy to imagine our early ancestors forming fantastic tales from the great unknown.

But could there be some truth to the mythology?

More importantly, does this theory mean that I can claim to be Australian through ancestral lineage?