If you live in New Jersey and happened to glance up at the night sky this week, you may have caught a glimpse of something that looked straight out of The X-Files. Social media lit up with posts, photos, and videos showing a glowing spiral hovering over the East Coast, and New Jersey was smack in the middle of the action. The spectacle stretched from Florida to Vermont, but Garden State residents were among the loudest to claim, “We just saw a UFO!”
One North Jersey local, Eddie Pikulski, was so stunned he dropped an unfiltered “What the f*** is that? I mean, that’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.” while filming the bizarre sight. Honestly, if we’d seen it in real life, we might’ve said the same thing. It wasn’t just a quick flash, either, people said it lingered long enough for phones to come out, videos to roll, and TikToks to start trending, per Audacy.
Over in Ramsey, Bergen County, Cynthia Zonneveld was simply walking her dog when the night took an unexpected turn. She admitted her first thought was, “Oh, they’re ready to take me home,” joking about an alien abduction. She quickly ruled out the usual suspects. No, it wasn’t a drone, and definitely not a plane. In fact, she even watched a plane fly right past it, proving this strange swirl was at a completely different altitude.
New Jersey Residents Shocked By Mysterious UFO In Sky
Now, here’s where things take a twist. While New Jersey has seen its fair share of “mystery drones” in recent years, this time it seems there’s a more grounded explanation. The culprit? A United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket, launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, about an hour before the sightings. The mission called USSF-106 was all about delivering a national security payload into orbit for the U.S. Space Force. (Very official, very top-secret-sounding.)
Col. Jim Horne, the mission’s director, called it “an exciting day” and a major milestone for the Space Force. Sure, it’s exciting for them, but for New Jersey residents, it was startling. The lights in the sky were certain to make even the most skeptical take pause.
Even if it wasn’t an alien mothership, the sight was jaw-dropping. And if nothing else, it’s nice to know that New Jersey can get a front-row seat to space history every once in a while. However, next time a heads up to the residents may be in order.
Hunter Spears 
Kenna Raye 
