The mystery of a pair of lights crossing the sky over the Bay of Islands has been solved by a reader from the Waikato.
John Burns, of Onewhero, has established that the mystery lights were caused not by extra-terrestrial visitors but a piece of space junk and a satellite which
by chance passed over the Far North on a similar path just seconds apart.
Paihia man Rob Clarke contacted the Advocate after seeing a pair of lights pass overhead at 9.40pm on Sunday. They were bright, travelled slowly but steadily, and diverged slightly as they crossed the sky from south to north. They were silent so could not have been aircraft.
Mr Clarke said he had had nothing stronger to drink than a cup of tea and did not believe in little green men, but he was curious to know what was responsible for the lights.
Mr Burns read the story online and, with a little research on the astronomy website heavens-above.com, found a Viking rocket body left over from a French space launch in 1986 crossed the sky over Paihia starting in the south at 9.40pm and disappearing over the northern horizon at 9.55pm.