Cone-shaped light stream on Bengaluru skyline wasn’t UFO

Isro's eye in the sky

An odd V-shaped stream of light was spotted on the Bengaluru skyline on Monday morning, which appeared to some citizens as cone-shaped.

Soon, residents posted pictures and videos of the strange lighting phenomena on social media, spotted for a few minutes in the early hours. Some thought the light streak to be a natural phenomenon, while the more curious ones speculated if this was the fabled UFO (Unidentified Flying Object), sightings of which had been reported extensively in the United States and Europe.

“Today, Morning Sky: God is the Artist, #Nature is the Canvas,” said a user from Malleswaram with a picture of the light.

Another user who spotted the cone-shaped light near Lalbagh lake wrote: “Something different spotted in the sky... Early morning scenes!”. “Are aliens in Bengaluru for FDI?” a tweeter asked.

Scientists, however, ended all speculations by saying the phenomena was caused by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C52 that was put into orbit by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. The rocket carried three satellites.

“The light people saw was that of the PSLV launch. Usually, people do not get a chance to see the rockets as they are launched during the daytime. So, it (the sighting) is not that common. But when the launch takes place during the dark hours and the skies have good conditions, it can sometimes be visible”, Dr B S Shylaja, former director of the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, told DH.

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