UFOs have struck over Hawaii; at least that was what seemed to be happening when observers at the W.M. Keck Observatory near Mauna Kea in Hawaii spotted UFO-shaped clouds breezing through the sky. The bizarre yet striking clouds stood out brightly against the clear, blue sky that day.
These clouds, known as lenticular clouds, were spotted on March 8. These clouds typically form downwind of large mountains or hills when intense winds blow around rougher terrain. In this case, the UFO-shaped clouds might slightly resemble the ship from NOPE, but it is just a harmless display.
“We spotted some UFOs today! Or rather, their doppelgangers,” The W.M. Keck Observatory wrote on Twitter, sharing several photos of the UFO-shaped clouds in a single tweet. This isn’t the first time displays in the sky have wowed the astronomy community. We have also seen exhaust from rockets lifting off create beautiful whirlpools in the sky, which observatories later captured.
According to the National Weather Service, lenticular clouds like these are pretty common in the western United States, near mountains like the Rockies. However, in places like Hawaii, it is much rarer to see these UFO-shaped clouds appearing in the sky. Reports of these clouds have also popped up in places like Greece, where the header image above was taken.
Because of their UFO-like appearance, these clouds are often mistaken for alien objects flying through our skies. Luckily, that isn’t the case here, and these UFO-shaped clouds aren’t any reason to be afraid. The search for alien life does continue beyond our planet, though, as astronomers continue to scour the depths of the universe for signs of habitable planets and living organisms.
The spotting of these peculiar clouds isn’t as rare as you might think, but it’s still reason to be excited, as nature continues to wow with some of the displays that it puts on. You can check out the full gallery of images captured by the W.M. Keck Observatory of the UFO-shaped clouds in the tweet above for a closer look at the spectacle.
