Mysterious ‘red cloud’ seen off East Coast has logical explanation, NASA says
NASA has an explanation for that mysterious glowing ball seen floating off the East Coast Wednesday — though not everyone seems to buy it.
The fluorescent bulb inspired talk of UFOs and aliens, but NASA says the puffy phenomenon developed after “a three-stage suborbital sounding rocket” was launched Wednesday from the Wallops Flight Facility on the Virginia coast.
NASA tweeted photos of two different “clouds” generated by the rocket: One was the widely seen red/pink “puff” and the other was something akin to a ragged looking white rainbow.
The puffy version became known as “the red cloud” and “cotton candy cloud” on social media, as photos and inquiries spread Wednesday. Sightings were reported from Pennsylvania to as far south as Puerto Rico, where tweets said an investigation was in progress.
“I was very shocked to walk out of my front door to see a red cloud like that, after the sun had already set. It was beautiful to witness,” one man wrote on Twitter.
“At first I thought something was on fire,” a woman posted.
“It was super vibrant and looked completely unreal,” another tweeted.
NASA warned Monday that oddities might appear in the sky due to a small vapor release associated with the launch. The vapor was not hazardous, officials said.
“Colorful clouds may be visible over the ocean to residents in the mid-Atlantic and southeastern United States as the Sun illuminates the vapor before it diffuses harmlessly into space,” NASA said in a release issued before the launch.
The rocket is part of an ionization study being conducted “just beyond the reaches of Earth’s atmosphere,” NASA said. The vapor release came as the rocket released its payload “after flying to an altitude of several hundred miles and about 500 miles off-shore.”
Even with the explanation, some people weren’t completely convinced, judging from social media posts.
“I’m sticking with aliens on this one,” Jeff Donohue posted on Facebook.
Visible in Southern NJ. (Pic shared from a town FB page) pic.twitter.com/o0aJ4Unpqo
— T C (@Tommy_Toyota) March 4, 2021
Se reporta avistamiento de luz roja en Nueva York New Jersey y Puerto Rico, actualmente se encuentran investigando la procedencia de la luz.
Vía @MundoEConflicto pic.twitter.com/63nQeUr4Hn— Alerta Cambio Climático (@AlertaCambio) March 4, 2021
Se reporta avistamiento de luz roja en Nueva York New Jersey y Puerto Rico, actualmente se encuentran investigando la procedencia de la luz.
Via Boletín del Tiempo pic.twitter.com/BGOAbnTetl— Alerta Cambio Climático (@AlertaCambio) March 4, 2021
I was driving home this evening and had to take a picture of this random pink cloud in the sky.
This picture doesn’t do it any justice. It was super vibrant and looked completely unreal. pic.twitter.com/IyfzLk5apU— (@DripsOfEden) March 4, 2021
Cloudless skies tonight other than this weird anomaly. Supposedly atmospheric testing. Strangely beautiful! pic.twitter.com/LXPlVDmC4P
— Beth Midgett (@mbethone) March 4, 2021
The DOD will launch a sounding rocket from Wallops March 3 to study ionization in space. The payload will release a small, non-hazardous vapor cloud shortly after launch that may be visible along the East Coast south of Wallops.
Read more: https://t.co/q7FuyhTX2p pic.twitter.com/1bgETKZIch— NASA Wallops (@NASA_Wallops) March 2, 2021