"Views Of The Leonids From Central Australia"

Although the much-vaunted Leonids put on a muted display, much below some expectations, some observers in the outback reported some interesting sightings.

Patrons at the Kulgera combination Bar / Roadhouse / Campground in the Northern Territory, saw some brilliant fireballs from midnight to 3 am. The most amazing sighting was of an object that went horizontally from West to East, emitting a shower of sparks, loud noises and a strong smell of burning.

Patrons who saw it described it as a terrifying sight, although one backpacker who had run out of money and was more or less sober expressed the opinion that it was a wedge-tailed eagle, which had unwisely landed on high-tension wires, which stretch alongside the Stuart Highway.

Further research on this sighting is being conducted by Ph.D students from the University of NSW, who are currently searching out those patrons present on the evening in question, and then attempting to replicate the level of sobriety experienced by each at the time of the sighting.

The University will gratefully accept all donations of spiritous beverages, so that the witnesses can be properly interrogated in the right state of mind, by interrogators in a like state.