Narrabri Telescope UFOs: Lights Over the Compact Array
Out on the flat plains near Narrabri, a line of six giant white dishes listens to the universe. The CSIRO Australia Telescope Compact Array is one of the world's leading radio astronomy facilities, and it has an unlikely side story: visitors, locals and, by some accounts, staff have reported unexplained lights in the sky above it.
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It's a great day trip on its own, with a free visitors centre and those enormous antennas up close, and the clear northern skies make the region a natural place for night-time skywatching. We tell the Narrabri stories in Supernatural Sydney.
The History of the Narrabri Sightings
The Compact Array combines signals from its six antennas to build detailed radio images of galaxies, pulsars and black holes, phenomena you can't see with optical telescopes. The flat land and low light pollution that make the site good for astronomy also make anything odd in the sky easy to spot.
The best-known story comes from 2012. Visitors on a night tour near the array described a bright white orb above the northern horizon that moved in short bursts, stopped dead, then shot upward and disappeared, all over nearly three minutes. An earlier report from the late 1990s tells of three lights in a triangle said to have hovered over the dishes during an overnight shift. CSIRO never released any statement about it.
The UFO Sightings
Reports from the Narrabri region tend to follow the same patterns:
- White or amber orbs that hover or dart just above the horizon.
- Three-light triangles gliding silently over the plains.
- Lights that zig-zag or stop suddenly, unlike planes or satellites.
- Lights reported directly above the telescope dishes.
Many sightings turn out to be satellites, meteors or space debris, and locals joke that "the UFOs know they're being watched". The ones that stay unexplained are what keep the stories going.
How to Get to the Australia Telescope Compact Array
Narrabri is on the Newell Highway in north-western NSW, and the Compact Array is about 25 km from town, roughly 500 km from Sydney. The Compact Array Visitors Centre is open daily from 8am to 5pm, including public holidays, and entry is free. There's an outdoor viewing area where you can see the dishes. CSIRO asks visitors to switch phones to aeroplane mode to avoid interfering with the telescopes.
Know Before You Go
- The telescope is an active research facility. Visitors are limited to the visitors centre and viewing area; the rest of the grounds are restricted.
- Night-sky events are run only occasionally by local groups. Check current status before planning a night visit, and don't enter the site outside opening hours.
- For night viewing, use public places in and around Narrabri. Don't stop on the road shoulder or enter the surrounding farmland.
- Switch your phone to aeroplane mode near the dishes.
- Winter brings the clearest skies, and a new moon gives the darkest nights. Expect cold nights, wildlife on roads and few services outside town.
Narrabri Telescope FAQs
Can you visit the Narrabri telescope?
Yes. The Compact Array Visitors Centre is open 8am to 5pm every day, and entry is free. The rest of the facility is restricted.
How far is the Australia Telescope Compact Array from Narrabri?
About 25 km from Narrabri.
Have UFOs been seen at the Narrabri telescope?
Visitors have reported a hovering, darting orb during a 2012 night tour, and a late-1990s story describes a triangle of lights over the dishes. None has been officially explained, and CSIRO has made no statement about them.
Why do I need aeroplane mode at the telescope?
Phones and other devices can create radio interference that affects the sensitive telescopes.
