• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Officials reveal what caused bizarre array of laser lights in the night's sky

Home> News

Published 00:25 8 Feb 2023 GMT

Officials reveal what caused bizarre array of laser lights in the night's sky

Some called it a glitch in the Matrix while others thought it was aliens sending a message from the cosmos.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

An eerie video has captured the moment a bizarre set of laser lights appeared in the night's sky.

In late January, the Subaru-Asahi Star Camera caught the beams of light flashing one by one in footage that only lasts about one second.

The camera is co-owned by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) and Japanese news agency Asahi Shimbun and is perched on Mauna Kea on Hawaii's Big Island.

Advert

As the footage made its way to social media, many thought it was a glitch in the simulation.

It certainly looks like the Matrix code was dancing above us.

But what could have caused something so bizarre to appear in the sky?

It could have been a technical installation for a nearby show, it could have been aliens sending a message to Earth, or it could be something completely unexplainable.

Advert

Thankfully though, we have that explanation right here for you.

NASA has since spoken out to reveal the rain of laser lights came from NASA's ICESat-2 satellite.

The Subaru-Asahi Star Camera wrote on Twitter: "The On Jan 28, 2023, HST, Subaru-Asahi Star Camera captured green laser lights in the cloudy sky over Maunakea, Hawai`i.

"The lights are thought to be from a remote-sensing altimeter satellite ICESAT-2/43613."

What the satellite was doing with the laser beams is a bit more of a mystery unfortunately.

Advert

However, Live Science says the ICESat-2 satellite 'tracks changes in the cryosphere and cloud cover caused by human-driven climate change'.

The cryosphere is the part of our planet that is covered by 'solid precipitation including snow, sea ice, lake and river ice, icebergs, glaciers, ice sheets, ice shelves and permafrost'.

But that's not the only odd phenomenon that has plagued the skies over Hawaii recently.

Astronomers were left baffled when a mysterious blue swirling shape briefly appeared in the night sky last month.

Advert

Man, January has been a wild time for space cameras.

The unusual shape was spotted by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan's Subaru Telescope on January 18.

Sharing their discovery to their official YouTube channel, the team wrote: "At first it was just a small dot at the left centre of the view.

Advert

"Then it ejected an arc-like feature. It became slightly larger...A bright dot appeared in the blob then it grew into a spiral."

The actual cause of this mysterious blue swirl in the sky was revealed to be Elon Musk. Classic.

The Japanese space agency noted that the strange appearance in the sky seemed to be connected to SpaceX's latest satellite launch.

SpaceX successfully launched their Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida on January 18.

Advert

After a rocket shoots up into space and deploys the satellite, it will return back to earth - but not before it ejects any remaining rocket fuel.

Featured Image Credit: Subaru-Asahi Star Camera/YouTube

Topics: Space, Viral

Stewart Perrie
Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Senior Journalist at LADbible. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign. He is in charge of the LADbible Australia editorial content and social presence.

X

@stewartperrie

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

3 hours ago
4 hours ago
  • 3 hours ago

    Minute-by-minute simulation reveals how US would react if invaded amid WW3 fears

    The hypothetical scenario starts with an attack launched by a joint Russia-China alliance on the city of Seattle

    News
  • 3 hours ago

    Former Miss Universe contestant Kseniya Alexandrova dies aged 30 in freak accident involving elk as husband speaks out

    Kseniya Alexandrova has passed away just months after having wed her husband Ilya

    News
  • 3 hours ago

    Stephen King issues scathing message about Trump and his erratic social media posts

    The acclaimed author made his feelings on the president very clear

    News
  • 4 hours ago

    Superman actor Terence Stamp dies aged 87 as family release emotional statement

    The Oscar-nominated actor has tragically passed away

    Celebrity
  • Experts reveal what the International Space Station smells like and it's not what you'd expect
  • Scientists reveal source of bizarre radio signal that travelled 200,000,000 miles to reach earth
  • Scientists reveal what aliens could really look like after discovering '99.7%' chance of life on distant planet
  • Everywhere in the USA that could see the Northern Lights this week as solar event is confirmed