Huge Explosion Turns Night Into Day Over Siberia, Sparks Speculation: Crashing Alien UFO, Space Junk, Military Missile Or Meteor?

Footage showing the extraordinary moment on Tuesday evening that night turned into day following a massive explosion over southern Siberia has gone viral online.

The Siberian Times reports that the rare event which occurred at about 6:50 p.m. local time, caused widespread excitement in several areas of the southern districts of the remote Republic of Khakassia, in southwest Siberia.

Night into Day: Meteor explodes over Siberian city (VIDEOS) https://t.co/TdLwrABSmC pic.twitter.com/vMvcdcMmtn

— RT (@RT_com) December 6, 2016

According to RT, a local news website xakac.info confirmed the incident was best seen over Sayanogorsk, a town in the Republic Khakassia, on the left bank of the Yenisei River, about 80 kilometers south of the capital city of Abakan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6XIQiB2DW0

Witnesses in Sayanogorsk said a bright flash was first seen and about 30 seconds later the loud bang of a huge explosion was heard.

There were also reports of the rare phenomenon from the neighboring Krasnoyarsk region.

Although, many experts said it was most likely a meteor that entered the atmosphere from space and burned as it fell to Earth due to friction with the Earth’s atmosphere, there was uncertainty as some speculated that it might have been a man-made object or space junk re-entering the atmosphere.

Speculation about the nature of the object flourished on conspiracy theory forums after a statement released by the Emergencies Ministry that object was a meteor that burned completely in the atmosphere over Sayanogorsk was later quietly withdrawn, as reported by The Siberian Times.

“At 6.50 pm in southern districts of Khakassia republic, a shining object was visible in the sky. The shining thing (supposedly a meteor) burned in the atmosphere and the burning came with a bright flash and a distinct sound.”

The Siberian Times reports that the authorities gave no explanation why the statement was withdrawn. But it led to speculation on local forums, with some suggesting that it might have been a highly classified test of a military missile.

But after the Emergencies Ministry announced there were no reports of missile launches from the Defense Ministry and that the Russian space agency RosKosmos confirmed there were also no space-related launches at the time, speculation erupted on conspiracy theory forums that the authorities were covering up evidence that an alien UFO crashed into the Earth’s atmosphere over Siberia.

However, experts insisted that the object — whatever it might have been — burned up completely in the atmosphere as there was no evidence that any part impacted on the ground. Others suggested that if it was a meteor that survived impact with the Earth’s atmosphere, fragments would most likely have fallen near or inside the Babik Valley.

“[The object] was several times smaller than the one over Chelyabinsk, but its fragments may be found,” said Viktor Grokhovsky, professor at the Ural Federal University. “Determining where they landed would require accurate calculation of its path. This may take a day or so.”

Several witnesses recalled the sighting.

“We saw a flash, and in about two minutes our houses vibrated and we heard thunder, and car alarms went off,” a witness said, according to the Siberian Times.

“I went for a walk with my friends. We stopped by the shop and my friend screamed when she saw a bright flash, and then there was an explosion,” a local woman said. “All the car alarms immediately went off. We were so scared. My father said windows were vibrating. We think it was a meteor.”

Many residents captured the rare phenomenon on camera.

A video shows a bright flash suddenly illuminating the sky behind a group of children skating on ice at a local rink.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8H4nwkLunA

“It was as bright as daytime. I did not understand at first what it was,” a witness said, according to the Siberian Times. “Then an explosion followed and the boom came from a long distance away. I’ve seen shooting stars before, but nothing like this. I don’t know how to describe it properly. From a tiny spot above my head, it turned into a huge ball, bigger than a car. There was a bright flash, like in the middle of the day; then for about 40-to-60 seconds we heard a loud boom.”

Nikolay Soldatov, a student, said the bright flash of the exploding object was visible for a few seconds during which it “emitted a cold light like a fluorescent lamp.”

“I saw that it was starting to brighten fast. The flash was really bright,” Nikolay said, according to RT. “It wasn’t blinding, but it was still bright.”

Sergey Isaykin said that the explosion triggered car alarms but he was not scared because he believed it was a meteor.

“It was very beautiful. You don’t see this every day,” Sergey said. “But we weren’t scared as we instantly understood that it was something like [what happened] in Chelyabinsk three years ago.”

However, a woman said she was scared because she thought it was a bomb.

“At first, I couldn’t understand what’s going on,” said local resident Olga Sagalakova. “There was a sudden luminescence. It wasn’t as light as day, but still quite bright.”

“We looked at the mountain near us… and there was huge meteor flying above it. It had a tail. Frankly, I was scared. I thought that it was a bomb,” she added.

[Featured Image by Vadim Sadovski/Shutterstock]