Last week, people in New Jersey took to social media to report seeing something really strange and bizarre happening at night. Photographers shared pictures of a mysterious bright pink cloud drifting across the sky. It wasn’t just seen in Jersey, either — people all over the eastern seaboard reported seeing the pink orb lighting up the sky. While the cloud was certainly striking and beautiful — that’s just not a color you see in nature very often — it was also pretty confusing, to say the least.

Luckily, NASA has cleared things up for us all. No, the viral photos didn’t capture a UFO — but they did capture a pretty cool space event. Here’s what happened.

It's easy to see why people were so astonished to see this bright pink spot drifting across the night sky.
Chris Bakley
I don't know about you, but my first thought would be 2021 is upstaging 2020 with an alien invasion.
@dripsofeden/Twitter
The strangely beautiful pink cloud was spotted across New Jersey and other parts of the east coast.
Jeff Donohue/Facebook
This photo was taken in North Carolina, for example.

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No need to worry, though: NASA has confirmed the mysterious orb isn't actually a UFO.
Pamela Nehf LLC/Twitter
Last week, a three-stage suborbital sounding rocket was launched from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
The rocket was launched to study ionization in space.
NASA Wallops/Twitter
The rocket released some gas vapors after launch, though.
The condensation from the vapors plus the sunset created this celestial sight, per NASA.
https://twitter.com/NASA_Wallops/status/1367271943288877056

Don’t worry: There are no environmental or public health concerns associated with the rocket launch or these vapors, NASA added. Phew.

So, now that you know you don’t have to worry about an impending alien attack, enjoy these stunning photos of the space phenomenon!

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