Bizarre 'Independence Day' cloud spotted over Moscow
In scenes reminiscent of Independence Day, a ring-shaped luminous cloud was seen above Moscow city's Western District on Wednesday, last week.
The pale halo has social networkers speculating that it could be either a UFO or a sign from God. But experts say it is simply a natural phenomenon.
Talking to the Daily Mail, a spokesman from Moscow's weather forecasting service said: "Several fronts have been passing through Moscow recently, there was an intrusion of the Arctic air too, the sun was shining from the west – this is how the effect was produced.
"This is purely an optical effect, although it does look impressive," he added.
"If you look closer, you can see sun rays coming through that cloud. Most likely, the sun was setting when the video was being made.
"If you observe clouds regularly, you may see many other astonishing things. Clouds of the same class may look absolutely different in different areas," he said.
Some environmentalists blame pollution for the mysterious ring but weather forecasters reject this claim saying: "The phenomenon has nothing to do with industrial emissions.
"They could not produce such an effect against the background of the current weather conditions.
"If something happens, there is the smog effect, but it appears only when the weather is quiet for a long time. The wind in Moscow has been quite strong recently."
- Amy Willis
© Telegraph.co.uk
