A series of cone-shaped UFOs reportedly illuminated the night skies over a Canadian province Tuesday night, sparking widespread curiosity and speculation.
While many residents wondered if the wild objects over British Columbia had otherworldly origins — scientific experts believe the terrestrial spectacle was likely just a SpaceX rocket deployment.
Malhar Kendurkar, of the Prince George Astronomical Observatory, told CBC Radio he saw the object and he was certain the light was a “jellyfish effect” resulting from the Falcon 9 rocket that launched around 9 p.m. from the Vandenberg Space Force base in California Tuesday evening.
SpaceX is the US aerospace manufacturer founded by Elon Musk in 2002.
The amorphous light was visible across a large swath of the Canadian province between 10:15 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. local time.
The exhaust from the rocket expanded as it reached the upper atmosphere, creating a cloud-like effect, according to Kendurkar.
Patsy Seymour, who posted a video of the light on Facebook, said it appeared to “dissipate” as it traveled into the distance.
The director of programming at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre in Vancouver, Michael Unger, told CBC the light was not a natural occurrence like a cloud or meteor.
“It certainly looks controlled,” he said.
“Those things are just more common in our society now.”