A mysterious, dome shaped object was spotted in the sky on April 28th, 2007, near Kaitaia in the Far North if New Zealand. Our buddies at UFO Focus New Zealand have taken a look at photographs of the as-yet-unidentified-flying-object and declared that the object seems to be a craft, a view backed up by an international expert. Dr Bruce Maccabee said the craft appeared to be of a circular shape, with a dome shaped top.

The lucky onlooker who captured the UFO photos watched the UFO for five minutes as it manoeuvred north, before eventually disappearing. Adding to the ‘mystery’ factor, there were no scheduled flights in the area at the time and the Carter Observatory has ruled out the possibility that it could be a meteorite or space junk.

While there’s no comment on whether the photos may be a hoax, the series of images would have required hours of work to pull off. Until further information comes to light, Northland’s unexplained flying object remains (officially) a UAP, or Unusual Aerial Phenomenon.

In the meantime, keep an eye out for other odd things in the sky…

• Check out the New Zealand Spaceflight Association (NZSA) site for current space news and events. The low $50 annual subscription gives you access to regular meetings and their two-monthly magazine ‘Liftoff’.
• A team of New Zealand radio amateurs are constructing KiwiSAT, a New Zealand designed and built orbiting satellite which they aim to launch within a few years. KiwiSAT will include a scientific research package and enable global amateur radio communications. Donations are accepted to help with the extensive costs of this exciting project.
• Rocket Lab is based in Auckland and is launching suborbital research and commercial payloads into space from 2008. The A-tea series of rocket is designed to carry 25 to 70 kg to an altitude of 150 to 250 km.
• Stonehenge Aotearoa is located in the Wairarapa region of New Zealand, just north of Wellington, and is built on the same scale as the original Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain, in England. This isn’t simply a Stonehenge replica, though; it’s been specifically designed as a practical open-sky observatory for the Southern Hemisphere and is used to teach the calendars of time and seasons. It combines modern scientific knowledge with ancient Egyptian, Babylonian, Celtic, Polynesian and Maori starlore.
• Have you seen some strange objects in the sky? Do you have missing time? Take a fascinating look into the world of UFO’s at UFOCUS NZ, a UFO research, support and resource network.
• Stepping into the future, the Star Wars New Zealand (SWNZ) site looks to encourage Star Wars related hobbies and provide fan information for Kiwi Trekkies. New Zealand also finds itself with a mention in Memory Alpha, the Star Trek encyclopedia.

Alrighty, I’m outta time – beam me up!