By Raymond A. Keller, PhD, a.k.a. “Cosmic Ray,” the author of the international awards-winning Venus Rising Series.

"There had been many reports coming from Papua New Guinea with respect to “flying things” and “strange lights in the sky,” even before the age of flying saucers ever began. Such strange lights are referred to by the natives as being “like a Tilley lamp,” which is the usual form of illumination used in the islands when electricity goes out or is not available in more remote areas. But it was on Friday, 26 June 1959 at 6:45 p.m., that Father Gill left his dinner table and walked out the front door of his mission home, overlooking a small patch of lawn fringed by a few trees including coconut palms. Fifty feet below that was the shingled beach. He glanced up at the clear night sky, looking for the familiar planet Venus, which he quickly identified. But there was also another “sparkling object” out there, one that completely mystified him. In his own words, the reverend explained that, “I saw Venus; but I also saw this sparkling object which to me was peculiar because it sparkled and because it was very, very bright. It was above Venus and so that caused me to watch it for a while. Then I saw it descend towards us....”