Mystery glow likely moonbeam

Press, 2 May 1988, Page 8

Mystery glow likely moonbeam

A strange, orange glow visible over Pegasus Bay last evening was thought to be a “trick of light” from the moon. Several Sumner residents reported the sighting of the unusual light to the police soon after 9 p.m.

The police investigated but no distress signal from ships had been received by the marine authorities. The light was believed to have been caused by a trick of light or a reflection.

. A Sumner resident who saw the glow, Mr Brian Grasse, said he found the official explanation difficult to believe. He first noticed the light from his laundry window and thought it was a flare

from a ship. He went to tell his family and then stood and watched the light from the porch of his Richmond Hill home. “It was flame-red and hovered over Pegasus Bay. I would describe it best as a light-bulb shape and as we watched it it rose and went out to the east," he said. Mr Grasse, who is a seaman, said the more he thought about it the less likely it seemed to him that it was a flare. He also found it difficult to believe that it could have been a “trick of light.” “It was definitely a strange sighting. Whether it was a U.F.O. — well, you read about all kinds of things, don’t you?” he said.