(Original headline: Clouds blamed for lights scare )
A cloudy night could be the reason why bright orange lights were seen over Hobart on Saturday night.
Or a very bright meteor breaking up.
Police, the Tasmanian UFO Investigation Centre and The Mercury received many calls about the strange phenomenon.
Reports included a shower of lights and nine in a zig-zag formation over Glenorchy, which lined up over Hobart.
"I've never seen anything like it in my life," said a policeman who did not want to be identified.
Another witness, Jackie Benson, was at Moonah and saw six lights sweep the sky.
"They were going across the sky at different speeds," she said yesterday.
Speculation was rife about the origin of the lights, with one caller saying he saw a spaceship over Glenorchy.
Last night, Southern Cross Observatory director Shevill Mathers said low cloud and reflected light might have been the cause.
The observatory is at Cambridge and Mr Mathers said he had seen an intense glow in the sky over Hobart.
"Bright light sources reflect on the base of low clouds, such as lights from the casino and other sources, and appear as orange lights," he said. "It may be affected by the water vapour level and drop size in the clouds.
"Different drop sizes refract light at different angles, as with rainbows.
"I almost got my camera with a wide-angle lens because it was such a good picture of light pollution.
"That's when light heading skywards prevents us seeing dimmer objects in the sky, because the light heading up is stronger."
Mr Mather said another possibility for Saturday night's light was the position of Venus and Jupiter.
"We've got a couple of bright planets in the sky at the moment, which are low in the west after sunset," he said. "Venus is rising and getting brighter. Above it is Jupiter.
"Seen through the clouds, they can be seen as a diffused glow, which is unusual.
"Another possibility could have been a very bright meteor breaking up, which could also produce the effects described by some observers."
