Various hypotheses have been offered to explain their formation, ranging from the naturalistic to the paranormal. Naturalistic explanations include man - made hoaxes or geological anomalies, while paranormal explanations include formation by UFOs. Study into circle hoaxing concluded that 65 percent of circles were definitely man - made.
Not everybody accepts that circles are man - made, believing instead that many designs are too perfect and that they lack signs of human interaction. Among these critics was British born Astronomer Gerald Hawkins who, prior to his death, argued that some circles displayed a level of complexity and accuracy that would be difficult to recreate on paper, let alone in a field after dark. In response, circle creating groups and proponents of the man - made hypothesis state that it is possible to create a complex design by marking radiuses and angles with rope, and to enter and to move about a field using landscape features and tractor trails in order to avoid leaving other marks.
Since appearing in the media in the 1970s, crop circles have become the subject of various paranormal and fringe beliefs, ranging from the hypothesis that they are created by freak meteorological phenomena to the belief that they represent messages from extra terrestrials.
According to material published by the BLT institute, anomalies found at some circle sites in England and the US are consistent with them having been created when localized columns of ionized air form over standing crops. Other hypotheses attribute them to atmospheric phenomena such as freak tornadoes or ball lightning.
The location of many crop circles near ancient sites such as Stonehenge, barrows, and chalk horses has led to many New Age belief - systems incorporating crop circles; Including the beliefs that they are formed in relation to ley lines and that they give off energy that can be detected through dowsing. New Age followers sometimes gather at crop circle sites in order to meditate, or because they believe that they can use the circle in order to contact spirits.
UFOs and other lights in the sky have been reported in connection with many crop circle sites, leading to them becoming associated with UFOs and aliens. Some people claim to have seen images of UFOs forming crop circles or overflying them, though photographs have been dismissed by skeptics as being indistinct or clear hoaxes.
