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.

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.

Chris Bakley

@dripsofeden/Twitter

Jeff Donohue/Facebook

This photo was taken in North Carolina, for example.

Pamela Nehf LLC/Twitter

Last week, a three-stage suborbital sounding rocket was launched from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

NASA Wallops/Twitter

The rocket released some gas vapors after launch, though.

https://twitter.com/NASA_Wallops/status/1367271943288877056

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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