Katherine George, Australia

NICK CALACOURAS

THE accidental photograph on today's front page of a UFO over a popular tourist destination occurred only hours before a bright light buzzed the crowd at the Katherine Show.

Victorian tourist Adam Rewuk did not realise he captured the image of the flying saucer over Katherine Gorge until he looked back over his photos after the trip.

"My Dad used to be a big UFO believer, so when I saw the picture, I thought of him," he said.

"I took the photo around lunch time, but I saw nothing in the sky. I didn't realise it was there until I saw the photo."

Mr Rewuk said the image was definitely not that of a plane or a mark on the lens of the camera.

"If I zoom in on the picture, it almost looks like a diamond shape with a bubble on the bottom," he said.

Mr Rewuk said the photo was taken only a few hours before a UFO was spotted at the nearby town show.

The NT News reported on July 17 that a bright light had travelled slowly across the sky about 6.20pm.

The UFO spooked hundreds of people at the showgrounds as the sun was starting to go down.

Mel Auty, from Camira, Queensland, said the UFO looked at first like a plane.

"But it was more like a falling star, just not falling. "And it wasn't dark enough for stars to be out. "It was going across the sky for maybe five seconds, before it disappeared."

Vicki Mulholland, of Borroloola, said she was watching the last campdraft events at the show when something caught her eye.

"I looked up and something went across the sky," she said. "It kept going and going and suddenly it was gone just as if someone had switched if off."