What is Area 51?
THE mystique surrounding Area 51 has always entertained the public eye, with many theorizing what lies behind the top-secret government base. The intense secrecy surrounding the base has made it the frequent subject of conspiracy theories, as some believe the facility is used to house alien technology or extraterrestrial life. Area 51 is located in the southern portion of Nevada, just 83 miles north-northwest of Las Vegas. Area 51 is the common name of a highly classified the United States Air Force facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range. The airbase is commonly believed to be the home of the development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapons systems. The US Air Force acquired the site in 1955, however, the CIA never acknowledged the existence of the facility until June 2013 following a Freedom of Information Act request filed in 2005. 7 Some conspiracy theorists believe it is the site of an alien crash landing in the 40s Credit: ALAMY  The base has never been declared a secret base, but all research and occurrences in Area 51 are Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information. Conspiracy theorists believe the facility is used to store, examine and reverse engineer crashed alien spacecraft, including material supposedly recovered from the 1950s Roswell crash. More than one million people responded to a satirical Facebook page saying they intend to "storm" Area 51 on September 20, 2019. Organizers of the prank 'event' - with their tongues firmly in their cheeks - created the page "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," calling for people to storm the location between 3am and 6am on the day. The page adds: "We can move faster then their bullets." 7  Organizers of the storming joke they are planning to start a Naruto run, as they approach the site, a term which refers to a Japanese anime style of running with the arms thrust backward and the head stretched forward. The page, in a deadpan style, says: "Let's see them aliens." On the day of the event, 75 people showed up at the military base. Thousands flocked to the Nevada desert for the Alien-themed events in the area. Matty Roberts, who started the event, wrote on the pinned post: "Hello US government, this is a joke, and I do not actually intend to go ahead with this plan. I just thought it would be funny and get me some thumbsy uppies on the internet. "I'm not responsible if people decide to actually storm area 51." The US Air Force issued a strong warning to anyone actually thinking of trying to storm the site. Nellis Air Force Base said in a statement that the Air Force is aware of the Facebook posting and says "any attempt to illegally access the area is highly discouraged". 7 The surrounding area is a popular tourist destination, including the small town of Rachel on the 'Extraterrestrial Highway' Credit: AFP or licensors  Air Force spokesperson Laura McAndrews has also released a warning to potential trespassers. She said: [Area 51] is an open training range for the US Air Force, and we would discourage anyone from trying to come into the area where we train American armed forces. The US Air Force always stands ready to protect America and its assets.  The 20-year-old Californian organizer removed himself from the event over fears of a "humanitarian disaster". A message appeared on the Alienstock 2019 website saying the event was off as they didn't want to be part of "Fyrefest 2.0". The statement read: "Due to the lack of infrastructure, poor planning, risk management and blatant disregard for the safety of the expected 10,000+ Alienstock attendees, we decided to pull the plug on the festival. "The permit holder (Connie West) was given multiple opportunities to provide us with the proof that things expected at this festival were in place. 7 Warning signs are posted all over the perimeter of Area 51 Credit: Getty - Contributor  "In fact, she refused to provide to us, as agreed upon, contracts, proof of deposits or any paper proof of anything." An alternative event is now being set up to take place in Downtown Las Vegas, which has been described as a "safe, clean and secure area". However, people still turned up as two Youtubers being arrested for trespassing near the area days before the event. The base has been a testing ground for a host of top-secret aircraft, including the U-2 in the 1950s and later the B-2 stealth bomber. Declassified documents say it was originally an area for the Army Air Corp pilots to practice their aerial gunnery. During the Cold War, experimental aircraft, such as the high altitude U-2 spy plane, and weapons systems were tested there. The current use of Area 51 is unknown and remains top-secret. The patch of fenced-off land, measuring six by ten miles, is tucked between a US Air Force base and an abandoned nuclear testing ground. The mysterious site is part of the vast Nevada Test and Training Range and has become the center of UFO conspiracy theories. The so-called Roswell incident is one of the most discussed and controversial UFO theories in history. History.com calls the Roswell incident the "mother of all UFO sightings." In July 1947, a rancher found "mysterious debris" and soldiers from a nearby base came to collect the materials. Then came a giant leap as newspapers reported that a flying saucer went down in the New Mexico city. "Ever since, conspiracy theorists have been hard at work trying to prove the wreckage was extraterrestrial, with one man, Ray Santilli, going so far as to release a video in 1995 of an alien 'dissection' purported to have taken place after the incident," according to History.com. Revealed FROM THE DEEP Pentagon 'has incredible photo of Black Triangle UFO rising from ocean' SECRET INVASION Aliens 'dropped sensors on Earth using UFO probe flypast', scientist claims MYSTERY CRAFT UFO that entered Arizona air space 'flew at 100mph and outran police chopper'  Santilli confessed in 2006 that it was a staged film, but said it was based on real footage. The military sensationally announced in a press release it had found the remains of a crashed flying saucer in the desert. But the following day it retracted the statement, saying it was in fact a damaged US Air Force air balloon.