Aussies freak out after a ‘spaceship’ suddenly appears in the sky
Sydneysiders were left scratching their heads this week after a large cloud resembling a floating spaceship suddenly appeared in the sky.
The bizarre natural phenomenon emerged over the ocean in Cronulla, in Sydney’s southern suburbs, with many sharing photos and videos from the cloud on social media.
But Weatherzone meteorologist Felix Levesque assured Daily Mail Australia the strange cloud was nothing to worry about.
Some suspected the “spaceship” was a lenticular cloud, which the forecaster said forms when moist winds are forced over a barrier, such as a mountain.
“This rising motion over the barrier causes the air to cool and condense into a stationary cloud,” Levesque explains.
“This stationary cloud will have a smooth oval appearance, which is why it is often mistaken for a UFO.”
Mr Levesque said the Cronulla cloud was in fact a roll cloud, a different type from the lenticular cloud which is produced by a similar process.
“Roll clouds form when a cooler, denser air mass pushes beneath another air mass, creating this rising and ‘rolling’ motion at the leading edge of the air mass – hence the name,” he continued.
Residents of Cronulla in Sydney’s south were shocked by the unusual appearance of a cloud formation that resembled a spaceship
Weather Zone meteorologist Felix Levesque said Sydneysiders had nothing to worry about (pictured is the strange cloud that appeared over the ocean in Cronulla)
“Southern busters, such as on Tuesday, can bring rolling clouds, and these can occur around 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 origins of the cloud, with many joking that it was extraterrestrial in nature.
‘Don’t believe anything they say. It’s the government,” one person wrote.
“How long before a local in the area offers their aliens barbecued shrimp and an ice-cold beer?” said another.
“The mothership, size wise… next we’ll see UFOs, orbs and drones,” a third commented.