DID you see these bright orange lights in the sky near Salisbury on Tuesday night?
A mother and daughter have sought an explanation after spotting seven orbs shortly after 7pm on October 22.
The mum, who asked not to be named, was at her home near Devizes Road when her daughter contacted her about the lights she had spotted ‘from the direction of Stonehenge’ when she was with her friends near Riverside Tennis Club and the Fisherton Farm allotments.
The woman then looked out of her bathroom window and saw the same series of orange lights in the sky, which they were visible for around 10 seconds.
The woman said: “My daughter and her friends were out. They saw seven of them (lights in the sky). Then, one-by-one, they disappeared.
“It happened twice properly. I saw them from my bathroom window. They told me about it, and I looked out of my window and saw it when they did.”
Now, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has offered an explanation.
After being contacted by the Journal, a spokesperson said: “I can confirm night firing took place on Salisbury Plain Training Area on Tuesday evening.
“The lights in the images are illuminating rounds used by the Royal Artillery.”
These are used to illuminate target areas during night missions or low-visibility conditions, according to Nammo, an international aerospace and defence company.
Bae Systems, a British defence and information security firm, says the technology is “currently in service with armed forces world-wide”.
The Salisbury Plain Training Area is the largest of its type in the UK at more than 94,000 acres.
It offers live firing and other facilities for armoured vehicles, artillery, engineers, infantry and aircraft. It is used by the Army, cadets and the UK's NATO allies.
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