Large bright red light hovers and shoots off before dropping smaller red/orange lights, one drops then moves at a right angle.Tuesday Jan 15, 2002 at 8:48 PM 45-48 degrees, dry, crisp and very clear dark night.I am an amateur astronomer since 1973 and very familiar with not only the night sky but local air traffic and weather.Lights or objects sighted in Hayward, Ca, 15-25 degrees above the horizon looking east and my position is East of the Hayward Airport and west of the east bay foothills with Lawrence Livermore and Sandia on the other side about 50 miles.I had just got out of my car and removed an item from the trunk and as I turned looking up at the very clear starry night, looking east, with no traffic, and Gemini just right of my view above trees and power lines. I then noticed a very large bright red stationary light and quickly discounted Mars, a satellite, plane but not yet a helicopter. I assumed it was a helicopter at first by its apparent static movement but it slowly moved in circular pattern and then the light flickered and got dimmer/brighter. It appeared 10 times larger then any planet and many, many times brighter then Sirius in the winter. As I watched I noted the background stars (2 faint ones) and I moved away from the neighbors porch light and positioned myself with a better view. I moved around to see it pass behind the power lines and to get a different angle of view. I noticed when I stopped moving that it was making a slow circular motion in a small area. I continued watching and heard nothing and it started moving in a linear manner to the south. I then alerted my neighbor. He came out and observed it. I asked that he turn his porch light off and he stated it would take forever to turn back on but he turned it off anyway. We both continued observing it and then I stated, "Stay here while I grab my binoculars." I quickly retrieved them and came out and started viewing it in a wide angle and saw that it seemed to have no shape other then seeming very broad. I zoomed in and still no shape, I zoomed out again and focused to see it better and followed it as it moved. I noted no other lights or surface. It seemed to have a sphere shape but more like a very large bright red orb or sphere shape. I handed the binoculars to my neighbor and he looked for 10-20 seconds. I regained the binoculars and spotted it quickly and as I did it dropped a light from the bottom (not as bright, and much smaller and slightly orange/red) which moved very quickly at a right angle to the bright red light. I stated loudly "What was that?' and continued following it by eye and binoculars, it then dropped 4-5 more small bright reddish/orange lights that dropped quickly at a regular interval and they seemed to drop just over the hills or tree line. We both witnessed this. They seemed to be like flares shooting down with some sort of trail but they moved quickly, much faster than I would expect from a free fall. They were each slightly different in intensity/size and color. At this point the larger red light continued moving away and dimmed giving the impression of moving quickly away and out or dimming and moving away. I was watching with the naked eye at this point and could no longer locate the large red light nor the multiple smaller lights. I heard no sirens after and no other witnesses. My neighbor returned to his apartment and I sat at my computer recollecting any and all details.