Did you notice a vertical streak of light in the night sky yesterday (Dec. 10)?

The orange bar stood out starkly against the dark blues of midnight, as seen from photos several people in Singapore snapped.

The mysterious light was seen at around midnight, some readers told Mothership, from areas such as Serangoon Gardens.

It's not aliens or a crack in spacetime

While one might think this is doing of aliens or a rift to another dimension, the actual cause is a much more practical one.

The bar of light is likely due to flares originating from oil refineries in Johor, Malaysia.

Flaring is carried out to remove excess hydrocarbons at the refineries for safety reasons. This process releases water and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

The light from the flares are then mirrored by ice crystals in the atmosphere, resulting in the vertical streak.

In 2022, the same phenomenon in the sky was seen by residents in Singapore. This was attributed to the flares from an oil refinery in Pengerang, located in Johor.

At the time, the Pengerang refinery complex had just started operations a month before.

Another oil refinery is located at Pasir Gudang.

Top photo courtesy of Esther T and Alice Ng / FB