Australians have looked in shock at the skies around southeast Queensland after a giant UFO appeared in the sky.
In fact, it was a storm cell, although images show its strange shape that eerily resembles a flying saucer.
‘We received several photos of this really cool UFO-looking storm this morning. “This is a lenticular storm cloud and not that common to see,” Higgins Storm Chasing wrote on its Facebook page Thursday morning.
The weather page explained that the cloud formation was a hail storm moving across the Darling Downs towards Oakey and north of Toowoomba around dawn with morning sunlight “helping to light the eastern side of the storm , turning it pink and orange”.
Commenters on the post called the phenomenon a particularly impressive display of nature and said “our sky never stops being amazing.”
“You can see the ‘Transmit me Scotty’ rays,” said one.
‘My God! “Thank you for sharing this storm cell, it’s so awesome,” said a second.
“Who needs drones and aliens when you can have this in the sky?” added a third.
A hailstorm in southeast Queensland at dawn on Thursday formed this spectacular cloud formation that some mistook for a ‘UFO’
It is actually a lenticular cloud that can often create smooth circular shapes.
The spectacular display follows a similar “spaceship” cloud appearing in Sydney.
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.
Some said they could see the “transmit me to Scotty” rays, a reference to Star Trek.
Residents of Cronulla, in Sydney’s south, were shocked by the unusual appearance of a cloud formation that looked like a spaceship in December.
“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.