QUEENSLANDERS are leading reporters of unidentified flying objects, with more than 100 of the 128 recorded official sightings around Australia in the past two years coming from the Sunshine State

And according to a Queensland UFO specialist, while many sightings were ruled out as stars, planets, meteors and planes, a "significant number" remained unexplained.

UFO Research Queensland's Lee Paqui said the state's hotspots for sightings included the Glass House Mountains, Toowoomba, Warwick, Ipswich and the far north.

"The most common sightings are the orange balls, and white balls that look like stars but move and display very erratic behaviour, like they'll make right-hand turns," she said.

Ms Paqui said many people were still wary of reporting their sightings for fear of public humiliation.

The Queensland research centre began operating in 1956 and was originally called the Queensland Flying Saucer Bureau.

It receives 1000 hits each day on its website www.uforq.asn.au and has sightings dating back to 1939.