The origin of an eerie, large, worm-like cloud that formed over Alaska’s Lazy Mountain last Thursday has residents mystified, and an investigation and explanation by Alaska State Troopers has led to conspiracy theories.
Photos obtained by The Bellingham Herald show a streak of smoke resembling everything from a falling meteor to a burning aircraft. People taking to social media had their own spin, calling it everything from a crashing UFO to a Russian weapon linked to the ongoing conflict over Ukraine.
Troopers, however, offered a simpler explanation: the photos and videos show “a contrail from [a] commercial jet combined with the rising sun which together caused the unique atmospheric sight.”
Eddie Zingone, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Anchorage, agrees, telling the Anchorage Daily News that his best guess is “it was just a very vivid contrail,” according to the Herald.
The locals aren’t buying it though.
“The old swamp gas reflecting light from Venus story,” one man wrote.
Referencing characters from the Nickelodeon cartoon Spongebob Squarepants, another said, “Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy could have come up with a better story than this.”