Top astronomy research lab has to clarify that this cloud is NOT a UFO

By Dean Murray via SWNS

A top astronomy research laboratory in Hawaii has revealed that this beautiful cloud above their facility is NOT a UFO.

The National Science Foundation's (NSF) have chosen an amazing image of the week in which a huge white cloud looms over their NOIRLab space observatory, which sits on the dormant volcano of Maunakea in Hawaii.

Although the image was taken Feb. 2, 2015, photographer Jason Chu says it is the first time the stunning photograph has been seen.

Jason explains: "The photo was taken on Maunakea, which is the tallest mountain in the world (from seafloor to summit), while Maunaloa on the right side is only a mere 100ft lower in elevation.

"The smooth saucer-like clouds are formed by high winds blowing over the gentle slopes of the mountain.

"Since high winds are relatively rare, and lenticulars even rarer above the Hawaiian island chain, I wanted to capture their seemingly unnatural appearance with some of the most sensitive and powerful ground-based telescopes available to mankind in the foreground.

"That, along with snow in parts of the foreground, makes it look like an alien landscape, a surreal image most people would not believe is from Earth let alone Hawaii."

In a description titled "Not a Flying Saucer," NOIRLab state: "If at first glance you thought the white shapes on the left looked like a flying saucer, then you are not alone. The white oval structures are in fact beautiful examples of lenticular clouds.

"These clouds most often form over large objects on Earth’s surface, such as the dormant volcano Maunakea, and at high altitudes.

"Combined with their smooth, saucer-like shape and defined “edge," lenticular clouds are sometimes mistaken for UFOs."

The National Science Foundation is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering.

NSF’s NOIRLab (formally named the National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory) is the preeminent US national center for ground-based, nighttime optical and infrared astronomy.