This is a list of sightings of alleged UFOs in Australia.
An unidentified flying object (UFO), or unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP), is any perceived airborne, submerged or transmedium phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. Upon investigation, most UAPs are identified as known objects or atmospheric phenomena, while a small number remain unexplained.
UFO conspiracy theories are a subset of conspiracy theories which argue that various governments and politicians globally, in particular the United States government, are suppressing evidence that unidentified flying objects are controlled by a non-human intelligence or built using alien technology. Such conspiracy theories usually argue that Earth governments are in communication or cooperation with extraterrestrial visitors despite public disclaimers, and further that some of these theories claim that the governments are explicitly allowing alien abduction.
Frederick Valentich was an Australian pilot who disappeared while on a 125-nautical-mile (232 km) training flight in a Cessna 182L light aircraft, registered VH-DSJ, over Bass Strait. On the evening of Saturday 21 October 1978, twenty-year-old Valentich informed Melbourne air traffic control that he was being accompanied by an aircraft about 1,000 feet (300 m) above him and that his engine had begun running roughly, before finally reporting: "It's not an aircraft."
The Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) is a US-based non-profit organization composed of civilian volunteers who study reported UFO sightings. It is one of the oldest and largest organizations of its kind, claiming more than 4,000 members worldwide with chapters and representatives in more than 43 countries and all 50 United States. The organization has been criticized for its focus on pseudoscience, and critics say its investigators fail to use the scientific method.
Many works of fiction have featured UFOs. In most cases, as the fictional story progresses, the Earth is being invaded by hostile alien forces from outer space, usually from Mars, as depicted in early science fiction, or the people are being destroyed by alien forces, as depicted in the film Independence Day. Some fictional UFO encounters may be based on real UFO reports, such as Night Skies. Night Skies is based on the 1997 Phoenix UFO Incident.
The Westall UFO was a reported UFO sighting in Australia that occurred on 6 April 1966 in Melbourne, Victoria. The object was observed by multiple individuals, including students at Westall High School. Specific details vary between accounts, which increases the difficulty of identification. The sighting has been commemorated with documentaries, reunions, and a local UFO playground.
The Chicago O'Hare UFO sighting occurred on November 7, 2006, around 4:15 p.m. when 12 United Airlines employees and a few witnesses outside O'Hare International Airport reported a sudden UFO sighting. The Federal Aviation Administration refused to investigate the matter because this unidentified flying object (UFO) was not seen on radar, instead calling it a "weather phenomenon".
This is a list of alleged sightings of unidentified flying objects or UFOs in Brazil.
This is a list of notable alleged sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in the United Kingdom. Many more sightings have become known since the gradual release, between 2008 and 2013, of the Ministry of Defence's UFO sighting reports by the National Archives. In recent years, there have been many sightings of groups of slowly moving lights in the night sky, which can be easily explained as Chinese lanterns. Undertaken between 1997 and 2000, Project Condign concluded that all the investigated sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena in the UK could be attributed to misidentified but explicable objects, or poorly understood natural phenomena.
Peter Brookesmith is an English writer on paranormal topics, especially the belief in UFOs. He has appeared often in the Fortean Times as well as speaking at their UnConvention.
The Gulf Breeze UFO incident was a series of claimed UFO sightings in Gulf Breeze, Florida, United States, during late 1987 and early 1988. Beginning in November 1987, the Gulf Breeze Sentinel newspaper published a number of photos supplied to them by local contractor Ed Walters that were claimed to show a UFO. UFOlogists such as Bruce Maccabee believed the photographs were genuine; however, others strongly suspected them to be a hoax.
UFOs: Seeing Is Believing is a two-hour American television special documentary film that aired on ABC on February 24, 2005. The program is narrated by Peter Jennings and features UFOs. It was produced by PJ Productions and Springs Media for ABC News.
A flying saucer, also referred to as a flying disc, is a descriptive term for a type of flying craft having a disc or saucer-shaped body, commonly used generically to refer to an anomalous flying object. The term was coined in 1947 but has generally been supplanted since 1952 by the United States Air Force term unidentified flying objects, UFOs for short. Early reported sightings of unknown "flying saucers" usually described them as silver or metallic, sometimes reported as covered with navigation lights or surrounded with a glowing light, hovering or moving rapidly, either alone or in tight formations with other similar craft, and exhibiting high maneuverability.
In ufology, the Taylor Incident, a.k.a. Livingston Incident or Dechmont Woods Encounter is the name given to claims of sighting an extraterrestrial spacecraft on Dechmont Law in Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland, in 1979 by forester Robert "Bob" Taylor (1919–2007).
The most widely reported UFO incident in New Zealand, and the only one investigated, involved the Kaikoura lights encountered by aircraft, filmed and tracked by radar in December 1978. The New Zealand Defence Force does not take an official interest in UFO reports, but in December 2010 it released files on hundreds of purported UFO reports. New Zealand's then-Minister of Defence, Wayne Mapp said at the time people could "make what they will" of the reports, and said "a quick scan of the files indicates that virtually everything has a natural explanation".
Bill Chalker is an Australian author and UFO researcher. He is a contributing editor for the International UFO Reporter and has been the Australian representative for the Aerial Phenomena Research Organisation and a New South Wales state representative for the Mutual UFO Network.
Cardwell UFO Festival, an annual event in Cardwell, Queensland, is the only UFO festival in Australia. The event started in 2014 to discuss the unusual sightings and activities in the area, including the Tully Saucer Nests and the Cardwell Lights. The festival also includes entertainment, family fun, markets, food and an alien-themed costume party.
This is a list of alleged sightings of unidentified flying objects or UFOs in Africa.
There was an alleged UFO incident on Ilkley Moor on 1 December 1987. A retired police officer claimed that he was abducted by aliens while on a morning walk and briefly held on their craft before being returned to the moor. The man took a photograph of the moor which he said shows one of the aliens that abducted him.