Strange lights observed by New York residents on the night of Tuesday the 12th have fueled conspiracy theories about a possible UFO sighting.
In footage posted on social media, the mysterious lights appeared white and bright, with a pill-shaped center surrounded by a hazy aura.
The sighting left witnesses stunned and questioning whether they were witnessing a man-made, natural, or extraterrestrial phenomenon, reported the Times Union.
“In the northern sky, in front of the moon… It wasn’t a meteor, planets, or Starlink. Yes, it was moving, but silently,” posted a Facebook user alongside an image of the lights.
“So, what UFO did I see tonight? Did anyone else see this outside around 9:30 PM? It was crazy,” commented another. “Who saw this? UFO in Saxonburg?” reported a third internet user.
Despite the theories, the lights were actually the trail and plume of a Vulcan Centaur rocket launched from Cape Canaveral by the United Launch Alliance, according to Space.com.
The Vulcan lifted off with four side-mounted solid rocket boosters and successfully delivered its 3-million-pound payload into geostationary orbit, the outlet reported.
According to ULA, the launch sent an experimental navigation satellite on behalf of the U.S. Space Force into orbit and marked one of the longest missions the company has ever conducted, taking more than seven hours to complete.
“The Air Force Research Laboratory’s NTS-3 satellite will test critical technologies designed to defeat 21st-century threats that contested, degraded, and denied the position, navigation, and timing critical to our national security,” the company said in a statement.
Photo and video: Facebook. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
