Sydneysiders were left scratching their heads this week after a large cloud that looked like a floating spaceship suddenly appeared in the sky.
The strange natural phenomenon formed over the ocean in Cronulla, in Sydney’s southern suburbs, with many sharing snaps and videos of the cloud on social media.
But Weatherzone meteorologist Felix Levesque told Daily Mail Australia that the strange cloud was nothing to worry about.
Some assumed the ‘spaceship’ was a lenticular cloud, which the forecaster said forms when moist winds are pushed over a barrier, such as a mountain.
“This upward movement over the barrier causes the air to cool and condense, forming a stationary cloud,” explained Mr Levesque.
“This stationary cloud will have a smooth oval appearance, which is why it is often mistaken for a UFO.”
Levesque said the Cronulla cloud was actually a roll cloud, a different species from the lenticular cloud caused by a similar process.
“Rolled clouds form when a colder, denser air mass pushes beneath another air mass, causing this upward, ‘rotating’ motion at the leading edge of the air mass; hence the name,” continuous.
Residents of Cronulla, in Sydney’s south, were shocked by the unusual appearance of a cloud formation that looked like a spaceship.
Weatherzone meteorologist Felix Levesque said Sydneysiders had nothing to worry about (pictured is the strange cloud that appeared over the ocean at Cronulla).
“Southern storms, like those on Tuesday, can bring broken clouds, and these can occur three to five times a year in Sydney.”
“A common location for roll clouds is over the Gulf of Carpentaria, so common that it has been given the name ‘Morning Glory Cloud’,” Mr Levesque said.
Social media users were quick to speculate about the origin of the cloud, with many joking that it was extraterrestrial in nature.
‘Don’t believe anything they say. “It’s the government,” one wrote.
“How long will it be before some local local offers the aliens some Barbie shrimp and an ice-cold beer?” said another.
“The mothership is going for size… next we will see UFOs, orbs and drones,” commented a third.