Lights in sky sightings mystery

A Masterton resident has seen bright, orange lights racing across the sky around 8pm last Thursday.

And he's not the only one to see the mysterious lights. A Hawke's Bay couple had a similar experience on the same night.

Allan Sutherland, was out on the deck of his Millard Ave home when he saw "bright, orange lights" in the night sky.

"At first I thought it was the Auckland plane but it was a different colour."

He thought the lights were unusual but didn't think too much about it until he heard about the Hawke's Bay couple's sighting. Kevin and Shona Otter were captivated by what they described as a fast-moving bright orange light about 7.40pm the same day.

Mr Sutherland said the lights weren't flashing, just moving.

"They went down the centre of the valley, around towards the airport and climbed east."

He and his wife, who also saw the lights, weren't sure what they could have been.

Mr Sutherland, who lives near Masterton Airport, is a keen observer of the skies and said he'd never seen anything like it.

Airport manager Tony Heyward said he had no clues as to what the lights may be.

"We had nothing out of the ordinary, I don't think it's related to the aerodrome at all."

Times-Age Facebook users speculated they could be balloons, Chinese lanterns or the International Space Station.

The ISS is a satellite that orbits the earth and can be seen with the naked eye.

"It may have been a Chinese lantern," said Mr Sutherland

Last year, a Havelock North couple reported seeing "a stream" of orange lights crossing the sky.