România comunistă, cuprinsă de „febra OZN-urilor”. Aparițiile misterioase care au alimentat teoriile despre extratereștri

In the summer of 1968, Romania experienced a surge of UFO sightings, particularly in Transylvania and Banat, sparked by Emil Barnea's famous photograph of a supposed UFO over the Baciu Forest. This event marked the beginning of a national fascination with unidentified flying objects, leading to numerous reports of strange lights and shapes in the sky. Barnea's photograph, taken on August 18, 1968, was published in September and was noted for its clarity, drawing comparisons to a similar sighting in California. Other notable incidents included an encounter by a TAROM flight crew with a green, oval object over Oradea. These occurrences contributed to a growing body of literature and speculation about extraterrestrial life in Romania during the communist era.