80s to Present
In the mid 60s, crop circles began to appear frequently around Warminster, a town in the Wiltshire area of England. These occurrences were given little attention until the mid 80s, when a retired electromechanical engineer named Pat Delgado took interest in the photos taken of these crop circles. He first studied a series of 3 circles, recreated below:
Delgado then began studying new crop formations, taking particular interest in "Quintuplets", which are diagramed below.
Delgado was soon joined in his efforts by Colin Andrews, and the two intently studied new crop circles, attempting to explain their purposes and origins. Through their research, they dismissed weather patterns as being the creators of the formations. They also distinguished "genuine" circles from fake ones, which they could prove were made by humans. The two attempted to find how these other formations were created, as it seemed impossible for any group of people to forge.
They examined the soil and the plants, as well as the geographical features of the regions which kept producing new crop circles. They also conducted interviews with witnesses and farmers, learning about the sites and sounds associated with the formation of crop circles. The two researchers even went on stake-outs, eventually producing their own audio recording of a crop circle being formed. Delgado and Andrews eventually co-authored the first ever book on this subject, which detailed their findings to that point. Since then, other researchers have stepped up to create a vast and varied array of theories and ideas regarding crop circles.