It must be spring! The first of this year's crop circles has been spotted
Just when you thought crop circles were a thing of the past, the first mysterious formation of 2009 has been spotted.
The intricate pattern measuring approximately 60 ft in diameter was spotted on Tuesday in a remote area near Avebury in Wiltshire.
It is made up of two segments of arcs of decreasing size between the concentric inner circles.
Ever-decreasing circles: The first crop ring of 2009 which has been spotted in a yellow-flowered oilseed rape field in Wiltshire
The ancient area of Wiltshire close to Silbury Hill, Windmill Hill and the Sanctuary is a hot spot for crop circles.
Photographer Lucy Pringle, who lives near Petersfield, Hampshire, has become something of a national expert on the crop circle phenomenon since being hooked by their mystery in 1990.
She said: 'In all the hundreds I've captured, no two are identical.
'I look into the scientific aspects of these circles and research the effects of electromagnetic fields on our living systems.'
The mystery of how crop circles are created has never been solved.
Cynics have claimed the patterns are the work of computer scientists using teams of volunteers.
Unbee-lievable: This insect shape appeared in the crops in Milk Hill, Wiltshire in 2004
Mysterious: A rectangular shape was left in crops in East Field, Wiltshire in 2003
However crop circle enthusiasts argue there are not enough hours of darkness in summer to allow them to be completed by humans.
Many people believe the patterns are a message from extra-terrestrial lifeforms.
Another theory is that colossal energy is amassed above the earth in the ionosphere and then zapped towards the ground where it creates the crop circle usually on chalky ground in areas traditionally known for their 'energy lines' and mystical past.
In the past the formations have not been limited to just circles.
Shapes include a bee, a rectangle and even a three-dimensional formation.
Last year a crop circle in a barley field near Wroughton in Wiltshire was found by an astrophysicist to be a pictorial representation of the first ten digits of Pi, one of the most fundamental symbols in mathematics.
From another dimension? A 3D shape appeared in crops in Silbury Hill, Wiltshire in 2007
It all adds up: This crop circle in a barley field near Wroughton in Wiltshire is thought to be a coded version of Pi