Early risers across New Zealand’s North Island were left puzzled on Wednesday morning after spotting a strange formation glowing in the pre-dawn sky, a sight some jokingly mistook for a UFO, a weather balloon, or even a “giant sperm”.
Among the first to witness it was Hawke’s Bay local Nathan Tomlinson, who was out jogging just after 5.30am when he noticed what looked like a thin streak of smoke. “It started off quite small – a little line through the sky – and then it just expanded,” he told Yahoo News Australia. “It was like a comet, but heading upwards instead of down… it had a strange, smoky finish in the sky.”
Another witness, Gordon Te Whero, also caught the spectacle, describing it as “unusual” but “neat” to see so high above the horizon.
Photos quickly flooded social media as Kiwis tried to make sense of the mysterious shape. One local radio station even joined in the fun, posting: “What the heck have I seen on my way to work in the sky today?”
But the explanation turned out to be far more scientific than supernatural. Internet sleuths soon connected the dots, tracing the phenomenon to Rocket Lab, the US-based aerospace company that operates a launch facility on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula, not far from where the sightings were reported.
On its Facebook page, Rocket Lab confirmed the launch of its “Owl New World” mission had been a success. “What people likely saw this morning is what’s commonly known as a ‘space jellyfish,’” the company later explained. “This is a phenomenon that can happen when sunlight reflects off the exhaust plume from the rocket’s engines.”
The display came from Rocket Lab’s 15th Electron rocket launch of the year (and its 73rd overall) which lifted off at 5:33am. While most online comments celebrated the company’s achievement, one summed up the morning’s confusion with humour: “Guys, you have the whole country in a tizzy. So many alien theories on my local community group in the Waikato.”
Images: X, Formerly Twitter
