The United States Department of Defense and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence will soon issue an unclassified report mandated by the United States Congress about UFO or UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) encounters.
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The mandate follows a series of unidentified aerial phenomena observed by navy aviators in recent years.
However, some closer to home believe they have witnessed similar phenomena, with their encounters occasionally even making the papers.
Here are some of the more notable incidents:
Also making news
January 13, 1954: The Argus publishes a story titled "Four saw flying saucers fly over Hamilton".
One of the witnesses interviewed in the article said they saw "a silvery circular object with a parachute-like adjunct remain stationary for 20 seconds, then fly off at an incredible speed."
April 12, 1967: The Wimmera Mail-Times reports that "Three young men were terrified by an unidentified flying object in Balmoral district at the weekend.
November 27, 2006: A bright light streaking across the Wimmera skies was seen by multiple people. Wimmera residents reported seeing a bright green object shooting westward in the sky from Bendigo to Horsham.
In a Wimmera Mail-Times article titles "Flying object still unidentified", Astronomical Society of Victoria vice-president Perry Vlahos speculated on what the object could be based on people's descriptions.
''First, it could be a meteor, sometimes referred to as a shooting star,'' he said. '
"It could also be a trail from a jet in the upper atmosphere. Jets can leave a condensation trail, and I have seen a number of these in the Horsham area, and it can look very striking.''
August 29, 2007: An anonymous Stawell resident reports seeing a "big, bright yellow light" heading from the east in a north-westerly direction. In a Wimmera Mail-Times article titled "UFO link to the Grampians", Victorian UFO Research Society investigator James Molesworth claimed it was the eighth significant sighting in the Grampians National Park in six months.
"He watched it for about 45 seconds, then it did a looping turn and disappeared to the north-west within four seconds," said Mr Molesworth
"This fits with other reports from the area."
March 28, 2014: A Ballarat resident takes a series of photographs of a bright object in the skies of Magpie and sends them to The Courier. The following month The Courier runs an article titled "What's in the sky over Magpie?"
"It was extremely bright," said the resident who took the photos.
"A white light but it had an orange tinge towards the end. You could not have missed it. It definitely stood out."
"I'm not sure what it is. A comet perhaps? Or a meteorite? I am quite a logical person. I am a non-believer in UFOs."