Was that a UFO above Miami? No – a rocket, actually.

A video showing a strange object travelling above the sky in Miami has got conspiracy theorists and many others talking on the Internet, but what exactly was it?

Anything from UFOs to chemtrails have been typically thrown about as the reason behind the teardrop shaped phenomenon seen by thousands.

Despite the odd nature of the spectacle, there are very natural and well documented causes for it. It was no visiting alien spacecraft, and no attempt to secretly control the American population. In reality it was an Atlas V rocket launching the MUOS-4 spacecraft into orbit, taking off from Cape Canaveral.

The MUOS-4 spacecraft is a communication satellite designed to help communication on the ground for US forces.

Many have speculated on why the rocket caused the light phenomenon and why it appeared to be travelling horizontally instead of to outer space.

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The first question is answered by a combination of lighting and atmospheric conditions. The launch happened at just after 6am, as dawn began to break, meaning the impressive plume of the rocket caught the dawn sunlight which reflected back to those in awe on the ground.

The rocket appeared to travel horizontally across the sky to some viewers, but this is just an illusion. It was travelling away and at an angle from some spectators on the ground, into outer space, but because the rocket was so far away, it makes it inherently more difficult to evaluate distance than it does direction, causing the appearance of horizontal travel. It’s a common and well observed illusion.

Of course depending on your viewpoint, the rocket looked very much different.

So once again the latest “UFO sighting” has a very much more ordinary explanation.