Retired management consultant Noel Schofield, of Keppel Road, said he saw the strange object when he arrived home with his wife at about 12.30am on January 1 after spending the evening at a party.
Mr Schofield told the Observer: "At first I thought it was a police helicopter but it made no sound, it was just floating across the sky. It looked like a great big balloon on fire.
"It was about 1500 ft up and floating somewhere over West Hill (...] and was bigger than a small plane.
"Being on antibiotics I had unfortunately not been drinking. Surely someone else who was also reasonably sober saw this apparition."
Mr Schofield rushed into his house to try and get a better view from one of the back windows but by the time he had done this the orb had disappeared.
"It could be a UFO from Mars or Venus popping over for the new year and then popping back off again!" he quipped.
Another reader spotted something he described as a huge burning orange globe fly fast overhead as his family were walking in Park Way at about 5pm on Sunday (January 11).
Local UFO expert Malcolm Robinson believes he may have an explanation.
He said: "There have been a lot of sightings of Chinese Lanterns over the country that are mistaken for other things. To the untrained eye they can be very impressive, especially if the wind catches them.
Comment: The witness in this article and, several other witnesses in other articles, have noted that these orange orbs are quite large. This one was larger than a small aircraft. And others have been seen doing maneuvers and hovering then speeding off. These would be some pretty spectacular chinese lanterns.
But chinese lanterns are a handy excuse for explaining the sightings away.
"But 5 per cent of all UFO sightings cannot be identified and without further enquires I cannot be conclusive."
Have you recently seen a UFO in Hastings? If so, contact us at observer@trbeckett.co.uk or phone 01424 856786
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