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 inquiries spread Wednesday night. Sightings were reported around 6:30 p.m. from Pennsylvania to as far south as Puerto Rico, where tweets said an investigation was in progress.

Among those who may have seen it was Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, who tweeted: “I just saw a UFO drop straight out of the sky on our way home from dinner... Very bright ball of light going straight down out of the sky.”

Many people shared photos, showing the bulb grew larger and changed shades as the sun set, from red to hot pink.

“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.

“I thought we were being invaded,” one North Carolina woman on Facebook.

“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.

This story was originally published March 4, 2021 at 7:06 AM with the headline "Mysterious ‘red cloud’ seen off East Coast has logical explanation, NASA says."