By Adam Barnhardt
Las Vegas is located just a quick drive away from Area 51 and, coincidentally enough, Sin City has found its way into the news cycle for a widespread UFO sighting earlier this month. A series of TikToks are going mega-viral for depicting a handful of lights, both white and red in color, hovering right above the Las Vegas Strip.
According to Las Vegas CBS affiliate KLAS, the lights could be seen in the sky for an hour just above Sapphire Gentleman’s Club.
UFO over Sapphire Las vegas. This is not a joke. #ufo #ufos #aliens #alien #lasvegas #sapphirelasvegas #sapphirelv702
Though the lights captured on film are certainly peculiar, especially when considering Vegas’ proximity to the enigmatic Area 51, KLAS says meteorologists believe the lights to not be part of an alien spacecraft but rather, a rare atmospheric weather event called “light pillars.”
The National Weather Service says light pillars can be seen when certain atmospheric conditions combine with colder weather, resulting in reflective lights seen in the clouds.
“Long pillars of multicolored light streaking the sky seem like the perfect backdrop for impending alien invasion, but in reality, light pillars are a common effect that can be found all over the world,” the agency explains on its website. “They do come from above — not extraterrestrials, but tiny crystals of ice hanging in the atmosphere. Ice is very thin, shaped like plates with hexagonal faces. When ice drifts down through the air, it falls close to horizontally. At the top and bottom are the faces with more area. Ice is very reflective, so when light hits those wider faces, it bounces around and reflects off more ice crystals.”
The group’s site goes on the explain, “That means we get these vertically stacked mirrors floating in the atmosphere. The light hitting it gets reflected up and up (or down and down, depending on the source), and becomes a radiant column in the sky. Light can come from the sun, moon, cities, street lights — any strong light source.”
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