Why is the sky red at night when it's snowing?

UFOs or something else? What could strange lights in the night sky have been? More in description.

• My dad told me that, when he was a teen back in the 1960s, he and some of his friends had seen strange lights up in the night sky on one summer night. He said they kind of exploded, but made no sound and they were all different colors. Like fireworks, but smaller, way up in the sky and they were circle shaped. I wasn't even born yet, so I had not seen these lights myself. But, my dad said he did and now, I'm trying to figure out what he saw that night in the 1960s. This question is more for my dad than for me. If anyone else has seen similar exploding lights in the night sky, please comment. Remember, they exploded like fireworks, but there was no sound and they were up in space, according to my dad.

• Answer:

  I had a somewhat similar experience in Vancouver last December, 2012. I was walking with my dog, and a very large bright orb appeared several feet above my head, then descended so it was directly in front of me (more or less) and seemingly was observing me. It was a very beautiful light, very bright - but easy to look at. Then, this light-orb (about the size of 10 basket balls) descended into what seemed like dozens of very bright round orbs and disappeared before hitting the ground. No sound, no smell. I was, of course, stunned - and I was the only one around who was there to witness this strange and beautiful demonstration of some other wordily phenomenon. Since then, my perspective on things have changed a lot. Like your dad, I can't say what it was, but it was something that had a purpose, that was clear. I've not seen anything like this since, but I seem to be on the lookout.