The colourful fireball was photographed by US-based rocket builder SpaceX on Saturday, May 4. SpaceX shared the picture online, where it immediately caught the attention of the company’s devoted fans. The alien object shows a streak of bright blue and deep red flames cutting diagonally across the photo. At the bottom left of the photo is an almost eye-like source of orange fire.
One SpaceX fan, BasicShape, said on image-hosting site Flickr: “This is some science fiction s*** right here.”
Another person, Roscoe Warren, commented on the photo: “Beautiful shot! Wow.”
But what exactly is this alien-looking fireball? Did SpaceX photograph a rogue meteor burning up in the atmosphere?
Or could this perhaps be an alien UFO dashing through our night skies a full speed?
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As incredible and otherworldly as the fireball might seem, the SpaceX photo caught the moment its signature Falcon 9 rocket reentered the atmosphere.
On the weekend of May 4 to May 5, SpaceX launched a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on behalf of NASA.
The SpaceX launch, dubbed Commercial Resupply Services mission 17 or CRS-17, the launch took off at 7.48am BST on Saturday.
SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 booster rocket blasted off into space from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
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Approximately nine minutes after liftoff, SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsule detached from the Falcon’s second stage and drifted towards the ISS.
Meanwhile, the Falcon 9’s first stage booster returned to Earth where it was photographed plummeting through the atmosphere.
SpaceX said: “The Dragon spacecraft supporting the CRS-17 mission previously supported the CRS-12 mission in August 2017.
“Following stage separation, SpaceX landed Falcon 9’s first stage on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.”
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Flickr user SBA73 commended SpaceX for the photo, saying: “Wow, amazing. Sci-fi made real.”
Other online comments said the photo was “cool” and simply “beautiful”.
SpaceX’s CRS launch was the 17th of 20 ISS resupply missions for NASA.
Saturday’s launch delivered more than 2,267kg (5,500lbs) of cargo supplies, equipment and hardware to the space station.