Proof of aliens? UFO was spotted in the background of video from the SpaceX rocket, say observers

As millions of people tuned in to the launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket, observant viewers may have spotted something more. Far off in the distance, just behind Spaceman and the red Tesla roadster, a small black dot can be seen zipping over the earth at incredible speeds. Footage of the strange item has sparked a flurry of comments on social media, many of which claim it to be a UFO.

Shockingly, it wasn’t the only oddity spotted in the footage. Some people have said that they caught a glimpse of a tube-like object through the Roadster’s windshield. Others alleged that they saw bright lights phasing in and out of the background.

“Is this an UFO!?” asked Twitter user JP-Gaming on Switch when they shared a photo of what appeared to be a thin, black tube in front of Starman.

Another Twitter user by the name of JJ LaBorde posted a picture of bright green, yellow, and blue lights floating above Starman’s head. “Hey SpaceX What the heck is that green and blue light that just phased in to the background of Starman???!!!” he said.

“Just saw a bunch of awesome UFOs on the Starman live stream,” said Shaw W., who then punctuated his tweet with smiling face, heart-eyed, and alien emojis.

But just as there were numerous people getting excited over the possibility of having seen UFOs, there were just as many who had their doubts. One of them is Nigel Watson, a prominent English UFO researcher.

“Perhaps the aliens just want to get hold of a Tesla car to take joyriding on Planet Zog?” joked Watson before offering a more plausible explanation for the bizarre sightings. “More seriously, this is more like a case of something falling away from the rocket, certainly nothing to do with a UFO of the extraterrestrial type following it. I think UFO spotters will have to work harder to find something a lot more convincing.” (Related: Have you heard of a GIGAPIXEL? The hunt for alien life is getting a new gigantic telescope in Chile equipped with the biggest digital camera on Earth.)

Whether those really were UFOs or simply jettisoned rocket parts, we may never know. But what is certain is that there will be even more surprises as the Falcon Heavy makes its way toward the red planet.

Fast facts on the Falcon Heavy

• The Falcon Heavy was first announced in 2011 and was originally set to fly by 2013. However, the date was pushed back several years, likely due to the 2015 and 2016 failures of the Falcon 9 rocket.
• At a height of 224 feet and with a payload capability of 53 metric tons, the Falcon Heavy will be the largest and most powerful private rocket in human history.
• The rocket is divided into two stages. The 27 engines on the first stage are more powerful than that of the Saturn V, the rocket that launched humans to the moon. These engines are separated evenly among the Falcon Heavy’s three main boosters.
• The Falcon Heavy launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on February 6, 2018. Lift-off occurred at Launch Complex 39, a rocket launch site that was originally built for the Apollo program and eventually modified for the Space Shuttle Program.
• SpaceX plans on selling Falcon Heavy launches for 90 million U.S. dollars for each flight.
• According to Musk, an updated version of the Falcon Heavy, the Big Falcon Rocket, could be replacing its predecessor by the 2020s.

Go to Space.news to stay updated on any and all upcoming news about the Falcon Heavy.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

Space.com