UFO

Well, it's happened. Something I never thought would happen to me. I've seen a UFO.

Last night we were sipping a glass of wine on the patio watching banks of grey cloud edged with coral move slowly northward in a darkening sky. There was a red smudge of sunset on the western horizon. All colour gradually disappeared as night crept in. No moon or stars were visible. We stayed outside, searching the dusk for bats.

Suddenly we both spotted a round orange light, with a brighter orange centre, speeding noiselessly across the sky. You could hardly miss it. It was travelling low, fast and in a straight line towards the east. After little more than twenty seconds it had flown over our house roof and disappeared.

Now, I'm not a gullible person, and I'm always quite sceptical and questioning about so-called supernatural events. But this sighting has me well and truly foxed. I've checked through all the possibilities and no explanation fits. It was certainly no natural phenomenon — no meteor, fireball, star or planet. It was flying very low, as I said, and across the sky at a level height, fast and steady and with intent. It was perfectly round and completely quiet. As I see it, the other possibility (little green men aside) is that it was some kind of man-made craft or object. But it was much too small and low for an aircraft, not the right shape, and soundless. And it was flying far too quickly and evenly to be any kind of weather balloon, blimp or Chinese lantern. And it was not high enough for an orbiting satellite.

Scanning the internet I've found that, when you've made allowances for all the hoaxers and crazies out there, there are many documented sightings of the same occurrence I witnessed last night: low and fast-moving bright orange lights. But what on earth are these things? And how are they propelled?