(March 28, 2010) The Mercury reported that a photograph of an unidentified flying object in Tasmania may be a hoax. The photograph, allegedly taken on January 3 near the Franklin and Alma Rivers, was sent to News Limited and analyzed by astronomer Chris Arkless. Noting the difference between the pixels surrounding the image of the UFO and the rest of the photograph, Arkless determined that it was a hoax.
Last December, a wave of UFO sightings gripped Hobart which residents thought was a plane that was about to crash. A Tasmanian UFO hunter suggested it might be a "meteor or space junk".