Oddly colored ‘spherical clouds’ expected off East Coast, NASA warns

UPDATE: NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility announced Tuesday the Black Brant XII rocket launch is postponed for the third time due to weather. “The next launch opportunity will be no earlier than May 12, at 8:06 p.m. EDT. Backup days run through May 16.”

Sunset along the East Coast could prove alarming Wednesday, including green and violet “spherical clouds,” according to NASA.

Reports of UFOs are likely, but the source will be a four-stage rocket launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, the space agency says.

The launch is scheduled for 8:04 p.m. and will likely “provide a brief light show for residents of the eastern United States and Bermuda,” NASA said in a news release. Clear skies could make it visible as far west as the Mississippi River, officials said.

NASA issued the alert to “reduce emergency calls,” including reports of UFO sightings, a spokesman told McClatchy News.

The release of barium vapor “will form two green-violet clouds that may be visible for about 30 seconds,” according to NASA. “The barium vapor is not harmful to the environment or public.”

“Immediately after release of the vapor, the spherical clouds are a mixture of green and violet, but that phase only lasts about 30 seconds. ... After exposure to sunlight the vapor clouds quickly ionize and take on a violet color.”

As the vapor defuses, “violet clouds stretch out in a slanted orientation and look more like short trails than a cloud,” NASA said

Experts say the vapor should appear 250 miles over the Atlantic, about 9 minutes after the launch. By then, the rocket will be nearly 560 miles from Wallops, just north of Bermuda.

“Scientists use vapor tracers primarily to study atmospheric winds in upper atmosphere and ionosphere. When released after launch, the tracers make it possible to directly observe the winds,” NASA said.

The mission has “a 40-minute launch window” and could be postponed due to bad weather, officials said. It has been delayed twice due to bad weather on Saturday and Sunday, officials said.

A similar rocket launch from Wallops in March created a glowing ball off the East Coast, resulting in widespread UFO reports, McClatchy News reported.

The vapor took on various forms as it dissipated, starting as a puffy red and pink cloud then turning into something social media labeled a “cotton candy cloud.” Sightings were reported from Pennsylvania to Puerto Rico, an investigation began to find the source of the cloud.

This story was originally published May 7, 2021 at 7:33 AM with the headline "Oddly colored ‘spherical clouds’ expected off East Coast, NASA warns."