Millions had responded to the viral Storm Area 51 Facebook event calling to raid the top-secret secretive facility. Fortunately fears that thousands of alien hunters would attempt to attempt to access Area 51 proved unfounded. Instead, fewer than 200 people turned up at the entrance of the US military base.
There is an alternative method to discover the secrets inside Area 51 from the comfort of your own home.
Those curious enough can explore the Area 51 complex from the air.
Google Maps offers a tantalising aerial glimpse of Area 51 allowing you to decide for yourself whether it is home to extraterrestrial visitors.
Typing these co-ordinates into Google Maps: 37.24804, -115.800155, leads you to a satellite view of the base without breaking the law.
Google data shows Area 51 contains a baseball field, an underground base and additional runways on a dry lake.
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What is Area 51?
Area 51 is the popularised name for a US Air Force base at Groom Lake in the Nevada Desert, 85 miles (135km) from Las Vegas.
What takes place inside is top-secret, with the public kept away by warning signs and armed guards.
This shroud of secrecy surrounding Area 51 has fuel many conspiracy theories.
The most infamous of which is the claim the site hosts an alien spacecraft and the bodies of its extraterrestrial pilots, after they crashed at Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947.
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Less contentious is that the military base boasts runways stretching up to 12,000ft (2.3 miles) long.
Area 51 sits next to two other restricted military areas: the Nevada Test Site, where nuclear weapons were once tested, and the Nevada Test and Training Range.
The entire range of Area 51 covers more than 2.9 million acres of land.
Area 51 has been officially described by the US military “a flexible, realistic and multidimensional battle-space to conduct testing tactics development, and advanced training”.
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What takes place in Area 51?
Official information is scarce, but the US military most likely continues to use Area 51 to develop and research cutting-edge war machines.
It is believed about 1,500 people work at Area 51, with most travelling from Las Vegas.
Area 51 expert Annie Jacobsen, told the BBC some of the world’s most advanced espionage programmes are at the site.
She said: “Area 51 is a test and training facility.
“The research began with the U-2 spy plane in the 1950s and has now moved on to drones.”