10:20 AM 6/23/2008-A HEATED debate has developed after a man claimed he had taken a photograph of an unidentified flying object on Saturday in Chongqing, Xinhuanet.com reported today.

He Zhongyuan claimed that a huge, oval-shaped UFO was flying in the sky that night, the report said. He said he was at Chaotianmen Square and shot the picture at about 8:47pm.

The UFO was green and yellow color, according to the report. It was bigger than half a football field, and had many holes like doors and windows, according to the report.

Chaotianmen Square had a laser light show from 8:40pm to 9pm that night, the city's lighting authority said.

Wu Zhilun, chairman of the Chongqing Astronomy Association, examined the UFO pictures and said it was probably an illusion. Wu told Xinhuanet that it was difficult to determine if the photo was related to extraterrestrials.

He said he used a Sony F717 camera to take the photos.

"I took pictures at Chaotianmen Square for about one hour and didn't feel anything special,'' He told Xinhuanet.com. He spotted the UFO in four photos later that night when he went home. He showed Xinhuanet all 84 photos he took on Saturday.

Shanghai UFO Research Center confirmed the pictures were not altered. The director of the center said a team will begin to examine the photos to determine if the UFO is genuine, the report said.