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The new crop circles are here:
I've been fascinated by crop circles since I was a youngster. When I was a kid I stumbled upon a crop circle, but I suspect that it was somewhere that kids were playing and they trampled down the grasses.
Apparently some insomniac FSM enthusiasts have taken to the fields.
Jellyfish, dragonflies and peace symbols: The summer of crop circles is just getting started
The 2009 crop circle 'season' started with abundance and now looks set to bring a summer of circles to Britain's fields. Whether made by human hands or an altogether different life form, no less than 20 formations have been spotted since the season began in April. This week alone two huge designs have mysteriously surfaced.
An intricate 150ft dragonfly appeared in a barley field near Yatesbury, Wiltshire, just days after a jellyfish design was cut into crops in Oxfordshire. Alien intervention? The enormous dragonfly formation appeared in Wiltshire this week
Last week a 350ft yin-yang symbol was cut into a barley field near Devizes, a crop circle hot spot.
Mrs Alexander's photographer husband, 50, from Gosport, Hants, said: 'I imagine this will not be the last one we will see this summer - and it has already been a busy summer for spotting them as they are well ahead of schedule. Some years you do get themes developing and often you are looking for why this happens,' Mr Alexander said. 'It could be to reflect the status of the world at the moment with its financial, political and more importantly, environmental problems,' he added.
The reasons for the decline in the circles over recent years is not known but it is thought the driving winds and heavy rain that battered Britain last summer may have made crops hard to handle - for humans and aliens alike.
When the 600ft Portuguese man-of-war turned up near Kingstone Coombes, Oxfordshire, crop circle author Karen Alexander said: 'This is the first jellyfish crop circle in the world. It is absolutely huge - roughly three times the size of most crop patterns.'
Jellyfish out of water: The 600ft crop circle appeared in Oxfordshire
Just how these intricate crop circles are formed is open to debate. Some argue the formations are the work of artists with access to computers and plenty of volunteers. The 'Circlemakers' are a group of artists, including Brit artist Gavin Turk among others, who say on their website that they get together with other teams of circle-makers to create ambitious formations. They even give first-timers tips on how to create a simple crop circle.
But enthusiasts say summer nights are just too short to accomplish such complex work secretly. There is research to suggest that 'true circles' are created by a massive surge of energy in just a few minutes. Sceptics, however, might suggest the circle surge is down to money as the mystery patterns are believed to bring millions of pounds in tourism to the west county. But the fact that many appear on ancient 'ley lines' leads others to believe they carry a mystical meaning.
Mr Alexander, who has been studying crop circles with his wife for 15 years, added: 'People believe they will increase in frequency up to 2012 where there will be some kind of cataclysmic world event.'
The 2009 crop circle 'season' started with abundance and now looks set to bring a summer of circles to Britain's fields. Whether made by human hands or an altogether different life form, no less than 20 formations have been spotted since the season began in April. This week alone two huge designs have mysteriously surfaced.
An intricate 150ft dragonfly appeared in a barley field near Yatesbury, Wiltshire, just days after a jellyfish design was cut into crops in Oxfordshire. Alien intervention? The enormous dragonfly formation appeared in Wiltshire this week
Last week a 350ft yin-yang symbol was cut into a barley field near Devizes, a crop circle hot spot.
Mrs Alexander's photographer husband, 50, from Gosport, Hants, said: 'I imagine this will not be the last one we will see this summer - and it has already been a busy summer for spotting them as they are well ahead of schedule. Some years you do get themes developing and often you are looking for why this happens,' Mr Alexander said. 'It could be to reflect the status of the world at the moment with its financial, political and more importantly, environmental problems,' he added.
The reasons for the decline in the circles over recent years is not known but it is thought the driving winds and heavy rain that battered Britain last summer may have made crops hard to handle - for humans and aliens alike.
When the 600ft Portuguese man-of-war turned up near Kingstone Coombes, Oxfordshire, crop circle author Karen Alexander said: 'This is the first jellyfish crop circle in the world. It is absolutely huge - roughly three times the size of most crop patterns.'
Jellyfish out of water: The 600ft crop circle appeared in OxfordshireJust how these intricate crop circles are formed is open to debate. Some argue the formations are the work of artists with access to computers and plenty of volunteers. The 'Circlemakers' are a group of artists, including Brit artist Gavin Turk among others, who say on their website that they get together with other teams of circle-makers to create ambitious formations. They even give first-timers tips on how to create a simple crop circle.
But enthusiasts say summer nights are just too short to accomplish such complex work secretly. There is research to suggest that 'true circles' are created by a massive surge of energy in just a few minutes. Sceptics, however, might suggest the circle surge is down to money as the mystery patterns are believed to bring millions of pounds in tourism to the west county. But the fact that many appear on ancient 'ley lines' leads others to believe they carry a mystical meaning.
Mr Alexander, who has been studying crop circles with his wife for 15 years, added: 'People believe they will increase in frequency up to 2012 where there will be some kind of cataclysmic world event.'
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