Case file · Close encounter
Nullarbor Plain encounter
A family driving across the Nullarbor Plain reported a glowing egg-shaped object that came close to their car.
1988 CE · -31.60, 128.90 · status: account
The account
On 21 January 1988 the family described a 'big glowing ball' that looked 'like an egg in an egg cup'.
The sceptical view
No conclusive explanation was reached; atmospheric electrical effects have been suggested.
The researched reading
A terrified family and a battered car, but the lab found ordinary dust and a burst tyre fits the violence. Misread lights in the desert plus a natural event explain most of it.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A known natural phenomenon | 25% | A meteor seen by tuna fishermen, a dust devil and a tyre bursting at high speed explain the light, the dust and the shaking; the police lab reported brake dust, clay and salt rather than anything exotic. |
| Something known, misidentified | 20% | A truck’s lights seen through a desert mirage, or a far-off light refracted along the empty road, could appear as a glowing object following the car. |
| Perception, memory or mind | 20% | Night driving, fatigue and panic in the empty Nullarbor are a strong mix for misreading events; accounts differ between family members. |
| Genuinely anomalous | 13% | Several people, a dented car and a truck driver and fishermen reporting lights make it more than a single tale. |
| A poorly understood natural phenomenon | 12% | A rare plasma or electrical phenomenon over the plain could explain light and dust together. |
| A hoax or fabrication | 8% | The family went to the media quickly and the story grew, though their fear seemed real. |
| Secret human technology | 2% | Nothing fits. |
Official position: South Australian police and forensic scientists examined the car and found nothing unusual; a meteorologist favoured natural explanations.