Three white dots are seen in the sky above Gimpo and Goyang in Gyeonggi, on Aug. 9, in a video aired by YTN.SCREEN CAPTURE
A series of unusual sights appeared in the skies over the Seoul metropolitan area on Sunday, which included three mysterious white dots that left some wondering whether they were UFOs.
Three white dots were spotted in the sky over areas including Gimpo and Goyang in Gyeonggi on Sunday, according to reports from YTN.
Videos showing the dots moving side by side before changing formation spread across social media.
Experts, however, said the objects were more likely balloons or drones traveling at high altitude. The three dots showed no signs of moving at high speeds or accelerating suddenly, nor were any physics-defying flight characteristics observed, such as sharp right-angle turns.
“The phenomenon is presumed to have been caused by large balloons or drones that strongly reflected sunlight,” an expert told YTN.
A strange weather phenomenon was also observed in the skies over Siheung, Gyeonggi, the same day. The sky appeared to be divided horizontally into white and blue, as if a line had been drawn across it.
The sky over Siheung, Gyeonggi, is divided horizontally into white and blue on Aug. 9 in a video aired by YTN.SCREEN CAPTURE
Meteorologically, the sight was the result of clouds hitting a weather front. Air masses with different properties met to form a frontal zone, and clouds that developed along easterly winds came into contact with dry air, causing parts of them to evaporate rapidly and creating a distinct boundary.
Experts believe the unusual appearance was created by a combination of easterly winds, strong summer sunlight and other conditions amid the sweltering weather.
“Clouds formed along the boundary being pushed by the easterly winds, and the lower portion evaporated almost instantly as it met dry air, creating a distinct straight-line boundary,” the expert explained to YTN.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
