Ashtar (also known as Ashtar Sheran) is the name given to an extraterrestrial being or group of beings with whom a number of people claim to have channeled. George Van Tassel, an American citizen, claims to be the first to have received a message in 1952 from Ashtar. Since then, many assertions about Ashtar have appeared in different contexts. The Ashtar movement is studied by academics as a prominent form of alien religion.