Were you watching the township skies between 8:30 and 9 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 26?

If you were, then perhaps you, like many others, saw what appeared to be three reddish lights the size of golf balls hovering in the night sky.

According to a woman who called this newspaper on Thursday, Jan. 29, the lights silently hovered "about a foot apart in a triangle" before splitting apart, then coming together and flying off.

The woman, who lives in the township's Ironia section, declined to identify herself, saying she didn't want people to think she was of unsound mind.

But, she said several people and students at the high school saw it, and heard from police that the lights had been seen elsewhere in the township.

"They were stationary, and they were strange, but I wouldn't say I was scared," she said. "We don't know if it was a hoax, but I don't think it was a plane. All the planes in the area were flying lower than they were."

On Friday, Police Lt. Don Smith confirmed "numerous calls" had been placed to the police about the unidentified lights, but that officials "still had no idea what it was."

The sightings were first reported near Morristown Airport early last month.

And, those in the Morristown area reported seeing them again on Thursday, Jan. 29.

At that time, Warnock Ford employees in Morristown reported seeing the lights at about 8 p.m.

At the time of the original report, Morristown Police said they appeared to be a hoax composed of road flares suspended from balloons. But no one knows for sure. No balloons or flares have ever been found.

The new theory is they might be "sky lanterns," balloons powered by lighting wax-infused cloth manufactured by, among others, Skylantern.com in Michigan. They are capable of reaching an elevation of about one mile and traveling for up to 10 miles.

Todd Schlosser, owner of Skylantern.com in Michigan, has said he had seen videos posted on YouTube of the red lights in New Jersey several weeks ago and was convinced they were his and not extraterrestrial.

The $2 sky lanterns are used for celebrations such as weddings and church events and cost about $2 apiece.

Schlosser was reported as saying sky lanterns can stay in formation if they are launched at the same time and are in the same air current. He also said they have been known to create UFO sightings.

But there is still no direct evidence saying what the lights are.