"Go figure... the two political parties, so sharply divided on virtually everything on Earth, find common ground in the mysteries of space. Thirty-six percent of Republicans and Democrats believe something or someone not of this earth has been visiting" Quinnipiac Polling Analyst Tim Malloy said in a press release.
Asked what they think these sightings of flying saucers and other mysterious aircraft are, 42 percent of Americans say they think they are man-made aircraft, 35 percent say they think they are aircraft from another world, and 22 percent did not offer an opinion, the release said.
Delivery of an unclassified report by the US Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Defense on unexplained aerial phenomena is due in Congress next month, sparking renewed interest in a topic that has remained a closely guarded government secret since reports of a 1947 UFO crash in the state of New Mexico first made headlines.
The US government has long claimed that a flying disk purportedly found on a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico, was an Air Force balloon.
Whether one believes in UFOs or not, the Quinnipiac poll also examined Americans' fascination with space exploration in an era when private rocket companies are planning such flights for tourists.
The poll found that about a third of Americans (35 percent) want to blast off when the opportunity becomes available and 32 percent said they would like to visit the Moon and Mars if the distant worlds are colonized in their lifetimes.