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LIGHT-emitting kites being flown in Launceston at night are causing havoc for Northern UFO investigators who are trying to follow up on other UFO sightings.
An unidentified orange light was spotted a fortnight ago from Launceston heading towards the North-East and in Devonport a woman recently captured footage on her mobile phone of an object with an ``orangey appearance'' rising from the Mersey River one morning.
Tasmanian UFO Investigation Centre Northern representative Phillip Polden said that he had received up to 20 inquiries from people sighting the LED kites in the last month.
``It's a bit of a pain for me, we are out there chasing these things around and they turn out to be a kite,'' Mr Polden said.
``The LED kites must be fairly new on the market, I think they are imported from the US and you can buy them for $20 on Ebay and fit them to an existing kite.''
Mr Polden said that he was currently investigating the orange light spotted heading North-East.
``While (the person) was watching, it sort of flashed brighter and disappeared, and then turned up again almost instantly kilometres from where they were first watching it,'' Mr Polden said.
``It sort of blinked and reappeared further south, I'm not sure what it is at this stage.''
The woman who recorded the North-West UFO sighting said she accidentally captured the object on film while recording a sunrise on her mobile phone.
``I initially thought it was something on my viewfinder, like a fleck on my camera, or a bit of dust . . . It wasn't really explainable,'' the woman said.
She said that the footage shows a white light which ``takes on an orangey appearance a couple of times, and moves around''.
``There is a ship that is heading into the point, and at one point it moves over the ship and hovers, it is quite strange.''
Mr Polden said that UFO investigations could take more than two weeks to rule out possible explanations for the sightings.
He said that he interviews witnesses, visits the areas to find evidence of hoax UFOs, and seeks information from meteorological experts, traffic control, and local councils to check for fireworks permits.
Possible aviation safety issues relating to the LED kites were ruled out by small-aircraft and helicopter pilots.
To report UFO sightings contact the Tasmanian UFO Investigation Centre on their Facebook page.