\u201cThey were in the general direction of the Featherston-Western Lake area,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese things were going up and down, to the side and to the diagonal. It was certainly not an aircraft.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was hard to count them because they were fading in and out.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said they were high in the night sky.<\/p>\n
Cretney\u2019s wife and daughter also saw the unexplained objects.<\/p>\n
The sighting prompted Cretney to ask others in Carterton\u2019s online notice board if they had seen them, sparking a wave of speculation.<\/p>\n
The online chat lit up with more than 150 comments and more than 115 reactions, suggesting everything from an imminent alien invasion to comets, drones and more.<\/p>\n
A contributor who had also seen them said they were \u201cdefinitely UFOs not lanterns\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey blow up in orange light and then glow yellow then white. And they are all darting around each other,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
They were also spotted further north.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw three tonight driving along Takapau toward Dannevirke. Was wondering if they were drones (or UFOs ). Almost looked like helicopters searching. Wasn\u2019t the Starlink satellites,\u201d said the post.<\/p>\n
Not all the comments added to the debate.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d imagine the aliens are looking for any signs of intelligence and have now moved on from Featherston towards Carterton,\u201d one said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh dammit I missed my ride,\u201d another said.<\/p>\n
Cretney said he had no idea what caused them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d be interested to find out what the lights were,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Astronomer Sam Leske, part-owner of Star Safari observatory in Carterton, had a scientific explanation.<\/p>\n
Leske, who has a master\u2019s degree in astro-physics, had seen the lights.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are satellites,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are low on the horizon, so the light gets refracted by our atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n
A few hours after sunset the satellites would be reflecting the sun.<\/p>\n
A long exposure image of the night sky from Star Safari Observatory in Carterton showing stars as concentric circles, with satellites visible as short lines in the lower right quadrant. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
\u201cThe direction you see these satellites is to the southwest and west. We are going to see more and more of these as there are already more than 14,000 in the sky, and the number is expected to increase dramatically.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the ones we see are the low earth-orbiting ones.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are seeing the reflection of sunlight on them. They disappear when they move into the Earth\u2019s shadow.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can see four or five in the sky at once, which can make it seem like they are moving around.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leske said it was likely the lights were caused by Starlink satellites.<\/p>\n
Another donut-shaped light above New Zealand caused a stir a few days ago, but an Earth Sciences spokesperson said afterwards it was probably the exhaust plume from a rocket launch.<\/p>\n
The region itself is no stranger to sightings of unusual aerial things.<\/p>\n
Last year, an object seen in the Wairarapa sky sparked similar debate online and turned out to be a super pressure balloon launched from W\u0101naka Airport by the United States\u2019 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa).<\/p>\n
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.<\/p>\n