Did aliens share our skies with Santa? | Hawkes Bay News | Local News in Hawkes Bay

Mysterious lights floating over the Hawke's Bay sky on Boxing Day have put some residents on edge, fearing Napier could have been visited by Santa and aliens in a matter of days.

Submitters to weatherwatch.co.nz described four floating lights moving slowly in the Napier sky, with three in a diamond formation and a fourth hanging slowly behind.

Numerous reports have been made about the lights which were visible throughout Napier from about 9.50pm, with many saying they appeared to be moving south in a silent formation.

Maraenui resident Alex Durbin said he believed the lights were an alien spacecraft.

Mr Durbin said family members told him about the lights and he joined others watching them for about two to three minutes.

"They definitely were not fireworks, definitely not planes," he said.

"They were round, a purply pink colour and were spinning - I think they were some kind of craft, if you ask me."

The lights came down quite low, with each appearing to be the size of a small car, before quickly disappearing into the night sky, Mr Durbin said.

"My way of seeing it is they have flown up into the sky to wherever they have come from," he said.

Reports of the lights have come from as far afield as Wanganui, Taranaki, Christchurch and Dunedin.

The mysterious lights could not have been aeroplanes because the airport had closed that night at 9pm.

Fraser Duncan, a graphics tutor from the Eastern Institute of Technology, managed to capture the lights on camera.

During the 30 seconds he photographed the lights, Mr Duncan estimated that if they were 20km from the ground they would have covered about 10km in the length of time it took to take the picture - considerably faster than any modern military craft.

"They were probably exceeding the speed of sound and they were travelling in formation," Mr Duncan said.

However, he maintained they were not UFOs, saying: "I'm sceptical of little green men."

When asked if any reports of UFO sightings had come in, Sergeant Ian Evans, of Napier police, said they could "neither confirm or deny", before simply saying "no".

Weatherwatch.co.nz, however, offered a logical explanation for the lights in the sky.

"We believe they are Chinese lanterns - these are often lit and set into the sky at the same time and travel with the wind - slowly, quietly with no noise," Weatherwatch said.