A very rare cloud formation with multicolored light was reported earlier this week in the sky over San Jose, Parrita, Pavas, Escazu and Hatillo in Costa Rica.
Pictures and videos of the mysterious clouds immediately went viral on social media sites like Instagram, with the hashtags #EscazuCostaRica and #ElcieloExtraño, loosely translated as "strange sky."
A woman who posted one video of the cloud formation on YouTube said that the cloud over Escazu looked "like the end times", while others suggested that these multi-hued lights are no less than a friendly hello from aliens.
strange clouds above Costa Rica — YouTube https://t.co/zC7mocgQEL
— Lee Wright (@leewright42) 16 сентября 2015
Many were especially surprised to realize that the appearance of the clouds coincided with their country's Independence Day.
A rather strange cloud was filmed yesterday in Costa-Rica, or could it be another cloaked UFO hiding behind it?… http://t.co/QHFQoCHC8l
— Jay (@UFOlogyUK) 16 сентября 2015
"We were just so amazed. We had no idea what it was and we'd never seen anything like it," Joey Petit, a resident who witnessed the clouds with his family, said.
Iridescent Clouds over Costa Rica, or a Sonic Rainboom? #MLPFiM (cc: Cronos310) pic.twitter.com/PZ3QI7aL5o
— Discord (@DlSCORD) 16 сентября 2015
Experts have, meanwhile, described all this as a rare natural phenomenon known as "cloud iridescence."
"@Independent: Rare 'Fire Rainbow' spotted in skies over #SouthCarolina in the #US http://t.co/zqhUB9xqf7 pic.twitter.com/FMvxGyiR3D"
— Jock4uni (@Jock4uni) 28 августа 2015
Eladio Solano, a meteorologist with Costa Rica's National Meteorological Institute, was quoted by the country's news network Teletica as saying that the colorful effect is caused by the sun's light being refracted by water droplets and ice crystals in the cloud.
Would have love to see this Fire #rainbow in South Carolina! http://t.co/pyWrxeNhuw pic.twitter.com/CFct8H0llR
— CaliOhmGirl (@CaliOhmgirl) 27 августа 2015
Interestingly, a similar process led last month to the creation of a "fire rainbow", a cloud formation that took shape in the sky over South Carolina.
