In UFO lore, contact between human and alien beings. There is much to suggest that these may not be physical beings but perhaps projections of the Unconscious.

The term was created by famed author and UFO investigator J. Allen Hynek. He proposed three types of close encounters:

• First Kind: The sighting of an unidentifiable object or odd light
• Second Kind: Observation plus effects such as heat, damage, paralysis, sound, lost time
• Third Kind: Observing beings

Others have proposed further types of close encounters:

• Fourth Kind: Abduction of a human by aliens
• Fifth Kind: Human initiated contact with extraterrestrials (the "contactee" phenomenon)
• Sixth Kind: An incident that causes a human injury or death
• Seventh Kind: A human/alien mating that produces a hybrid or "Star Child"