Phoenix lights explained? Update on the sighting.
Chinese lanterns?

Also see this great October, 2007 post for further explanation of the Chinese lantern theory from a little known debunkerist forum. Be sure to follow Chorlton's links there. Might this be the explanation? It sure seems like it.

There's also a humorous follow-up post by a genius known as 'Ryguy,' "That is a fascinating hypothesis.," says he. "Several ways to explore it - determine which States in the U.S. have the highest concentration of Asians and correlate with the proportion of 'orb' sightings."

It's the damned 'Asians' after all! Thanks for that, 'Ryguy!'