A mysterious object seen in skies over the Tasman Sea near Kaitaia is baffling UFO experts.

Last month, The Northern News reported that UFO Focus New Zealand (UFOCUS NZ) and world UFO expert Dr Bruce Maccabee were studying a series of unusual photographs taken at Ahipara on April 28.

The digital photos, taken of the sky and sea at 5.42pm, showed a bright object which did not look like a cloud and had the appearance of a craft.

The story attracted intense interest and remained one of the most viewed stories on the Northland page of the Stuff news website three weeks after publication.

Last week, UFOCUS released its report on the sighting and we can now bring you photos.

The report says the photographer watched the object for nearly five minutes while it moved silently across the sky in a northerly direction reducing in size and disappearing.

Dr Maccabee, an optical physicist in the United States Navy, says in the report that the object does not display flight characteristics that distinguish it as a ‘craft’ of unknown origin.

However, its shape suggests a circular ‘something’ with a dome-like top.

The object could also be a jet aircraft’s vapour trail viewed end on, he says.

Air Traffic Control says there were no scheduled flights in the area at the time.

It would expect to see consistency of shape from both trails and a ‘flow-off’ similar to a cirrus cloud blown by winds if the object was a jet contrail.

Instead, the shapes in the photos are compact.

UFOCUS has consulted the Carter Observatory and ruled out the object being space junk or a meteorite, says the group?s coordinator Suzy Hansen.

“Neither space junk nor a meteorite would present the images we have. They would be a ball of fire burning up rather than a bright object.”

Dr Maccabee has not commented on whether the photographer may have manipulated the eight photos, says Ms Hansen.

While the UFO group cannot rule out the possibility of manipulation, she thinks it is unlikely the photos are a hoax.

“I have directly asked the witness if he hoaxed the photos, and he was most adamant that he had not.

“When you see the full series, you will see that it would take hours and hours to hoax such a thing.”

UFOCUS and Dr Maccabee have agreed that no firm conclusion can be drawn about what the object is, says Ms Hansen.

They are classifying it as an unusual aerial phenomenon – UAP – but are keen to know what the public thinks it may be.

(Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/northland/4181344a22378.html)

A mysterious object captured in photos taken near Kaitaia is the subject of an investigation involving an international UFO expert.

FLYING SAUCER OR DINNER PLATE: This photo taken from a New Zealand naval ship near Cape Brett in 1965 sparked a UFO debate when it was discovered in navy archives last year. Sceptics believe the disc-like object at the top of the photo may be a dinner plate or clay pigeon thrown from the bridge of the ship.

New Zealand UFO researchers – UFOCUS NZ – have asked United States UFO specialist Dr Bruce Maccabee to study a series of digital photos snapped at Ahipara on April 28.

UFOCUS NZ coordinator Suzy Hansen says a man noticed a bright mark on photos he had taken of the sea and sky at sunset when he viewed the photos on his computer.

“It does not look like a cloud. It does not fit in with any of the cloud structures around it. It certainly looks like a craft,” says Ms Hansen.

Dr Maccabee believes the object is a jet aircraft’s vapour trail viewed end on, she says.

But air traffic control records show the nearest plane was 380km away in a different direction when the photos were taken. While the photographer was a person with some standing in the community, UFOCUS couldn’t be certain the photos hadn’t been manipulated.

“We are still looking with Dr Maccabee at the possibility that it may be a Photoshop hoax. However, looking at the pixilation, we certainly wouldn’t think that, but he is the expert not us.”

Deciding if the photos are authentic will be a fairly easy matter for the UFO specialist who is an optical physicist in the United States Navy, she says.

“The only problem is the person deleted the photos from the memory card after they downloaded them to their computer. We advise people not to do that, but this person didn’t know.”

If the photos are genuine, the object may be anything from a piece of space junk to an insect on the camera lens, she says.

An ‘amazing silver craft’ seen in skies over Tauranga recently turned out to be industrial, metallic paper.

Even if the researchers conclude the object is a craft of unknown origin and technology, they cannot assume it is extraterrestrial, she says.

“We don’t claim it is a craft with little green men on board.”

“There is a great deal of secret technology being developed by various countries, especially the United States.

“We are interested to know what the object is, because as responsible citizens we are entitled to know what is in our skies, what it is doing there and where it has come from.”

UFOCUS has designed a system for reporting UFO sightings.

(Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/northland/4139098a22378.html)