This article was published in the daily newspaper Daily Liberal, Dubbo, Australia, on Wednesday, 29 January 2003.
NIKKI ROBERTS
Local people have reported strange objects in the sky above Dubbo recently prompting an appeal from the Independent Network of UFO Researchers (INUFOR) for anyone with similar sightings to come forward.
On Tuesday January 14 about 8pm a family on a property between Dubbo and Parkes saw something in the evening sky they couldn't explain, according to INUFOR co-ordinator Moira McGhee.
"It was one report but several members of the same family witnessed it," she said.
"They saw an oval-shaped ball in the sky, glowing gold in colour.
"The object was roughly the size of a large plane, but had no flashing lights. It was very bright and travelled east to west across the northern sky.
"The man said it was moving quite fast - faster than a 747 plane, but slower than a military jet.
"He said its speed, colour and trajectory remained constant throughout the flight and the object moved soundlessly."
Ms McGhee said INUFOR had not yet ruled out the possibility it was a satellite, but based on her information she said it was highly unlikely this was the case.
"The man had seen something similar to this in the sky at an earlier date, and he also said he had seen satellites before and this object did not resemble a satellite in any way," Ms McGhee said.
A lot of INUFOR's reports have been from rural people and Ms McGhee said they were one of the most reliable witnesses.
"The man did not embellish the story, or make it fanciful or entertaining," she said.
"He was very straight in what he said, and he was reluctant to come forward."
It is not the first report of strange objects in the central western sky with Ms McGhee recounting a "spate" of sightings about six years ago.
"A Queensland couple was travelling through Dubbo on the Newell Highway on their way home from a holiday in Victoria," she said.
"They were travelling in a coach following behind a truck, and they were seated in the front seat, in earshot of the UHF radio.
"The truck driver said 'can you see that mate' and the bus driver replied 'I sure can', and the couple looked up to see a giant glowing disc in the sky, much larger than the shops it was passing over."
Ms McGhee is urging anyone with information about the recent glowing ball or any strange sighting in the sky to come forward and report it to INUFOR on (02) 4757 3848.
