Saw a strange light in the sky on Tuesday? Here's what caused it
(WPRI) — Did you see the strange, swirling light floating in the sky Tuesday evening?
No, it wasn't aliens. And no, you weren't the only one to see it.
People in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York reported seeing the strange light.
The photos below, shared with Nexstar's WPRI, show the odd orb in the New England sky:
While odd, this light is likely explainable.
The European Space Agency launched a weather-monitoring satellite on Tuesday. The Ariane 6 rocket carrying the satellite launched from Kourou, French Guiana, more than 2,000 miles from New England.
As the rocket dumped fuel into the upper levels of the atmosphere, a hazy S-shaped light appeared and was visible to many in the U.S.
A similar celestial show happened in August, when those in the Midwest and the Northeastern U.S. spotted a spiral-shaped light overhead. That light, Nexstar's WBOY reported at the time, was most likely from the Vulcan Centaur rocket launched on behalf of the U.S. military from Cape Canaveral, Florida.