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Several Houstonians thought they were witnessing something out of a sci-fi movie Wednesday night (March 23) when a mysterious red light was spotted in the skies, according to reports from Houston-based media outlets. News stations KHOU, KPRC and KTRK were inundated by calls and messages from viewers wondering what was it that they were seeing outside.
According to each outlet, the light was seen by people in Pearland, League City, Deer Park, Missouri City and other parts of the Greater Houston area. Carolyn Sumners with the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences told KHOU that the rare sight was a flare from a nearby refinery.
“I can tell you it's not a comet, it's not a shooting star, it's not an aurora," Sumners said, according to the station. "The refinery doesn't move, that’s why it (the light) doesn’t move over time. That’s a good solution. Something that’s actively burning is going to burn out. When a refinery is flaring, they continue to flare."
According to KHOU meteorologist Tim Pandajis, the station did receive confirmation of flaring occurring at one of the plants.
"That bright light from the flare was being reflected like a mirror by ice crystals in the middle to upper levels of the atmosphere," Pandajis said, according to KHOU. "The atmosphere conditions with flaring at the same time doesn't happen very often."
KPRC reported that the ExxonMobil facility in Beaumont took to Facebook to advise the public that it would conduct flaring, but it remains unclear whether the light came from that particular refinery.
The National Weather Service tweeted that it was "an uncommon optical phenomenon" for the region, according to the station.
KTRK meteorologist Travis Herzog deduced that the beam was a "light pillar."
"It is caused by ice crystals in the clouds," Herzog said, according to his station. "Light pillars are rare to see around here, but the air aloft is exceptionally cold because of the powerful storm system that brought severe weather to Texas Monday and Tuesday."