Extraterrestrials are a common theme in modern science-fiction, and also appeared in much earlier works such as the second-century parody True History[1] by Lucian of Samosata.

This book caused a revolution in fiction as much as it did in science, as authors began to imagine extraterrestrial races completely different from human beings.

[4] The Barney and Betty Hill incident took place in 1961 when the couple claimed that they were abducted by aliens and subjected to invasive experiments.

The description of the aliens made by the Hills, with oversized heads, big eyes, pale grey skin, and small noses captivated the public imagination and was later used by TV shows and films.

This is especially noticeable in the Star Trek franchise; this would later be explained in-universe as a result of an ancient spacefaring humanoid civilization “seeding” its DNA across countless planets including Earth.