Images of a pink orb floating in the sky have gone viral after the unexplained phenomenon appeared over Egypt for several hours, then disappeared.
The orb, which was viewed tens of thousands of times, showed the large object floating still in the sky, sometimes trailing white residue. It was first seen early on Sunday morning, and several social media users were baffled by the appearance.
The phenomenon prompted several theories as to what could have caused it, some people suggesting it could have been created by other celestial bodies, such as Jupiter. Initial reports indicated that some users thought the orb was the moon, until it changed color.
"This is Jupiter, apparently it is correct that Jupiter enters between the Earth and the Sun after dawn," one sleuth wrote on Threads.
Another person wrote, on Reddit: "On last Sunday morning nearly at 6:30 a.m. many people in Alexandria of Egypt had seen a strange cloudy pink spot on the sky. Witnesses on average reported that at first it was white as the size of the moon, and most people had mistaken it as the moon itself, then it grew larger and later it diffused as a smoke very fast.
"One man explained as it was an explosion without a sound. Another one said that there were white lights in the middle of it. The phenomenon continued for nearly 5 minutes and has been seen in Alexandria, Marsa Matruh, Menofia and even in Libya.
"Anyone has a logical or scientific explanation for this? The images are from different sources on Facebook and X (Twitter) and no other international source has reported it yet ..."
The Reddit poster added that it could have been created by a rocket launch, which would explain the white residue created by the image.
Similar images have previously been attributed to SpaceX rocket launches, which leave red-pink vapor behind as they leave the atmosphere. Rockets leaving the ionosphere can cause gas molecules to create an aurora effect, though it normally isn't as circular as the shapes seen on Sunday.
Newsweek contacted the Egyptian authorities for more information on the sightings via email.
Sightings in the night sky are often the most common source of UFO conspiracies. In November, the Pentagon released a new report stating that hundreds of UFO sightings were actually balloons, birds and satellites, or other explainable phenomena.