NYC panics after mysterious orb of light soars high in sky. But it's not UFO

The people in New York City were left puzzled and a little panicky after they spotted a mysterious orb of light with a long and glowing tail soaring across the skies of the Big Apple on Tuesday morning (September 10).

This mysterious spotting ignited theories about whether aliens were getting for a real touchdown or just a UFO was passing by.

However, the strange object had no alien connection but was a spaceship which was carrying the daredevil civilian who would perform the world's first spacewalk.

The Polaris Dawnlaunched from the Kennedy Space Stationin Florida at 5:23 am (local time) and had aboard NASA scientists and a civilian, who would be the first non-astronauts to perform a spacewalk.

After its launch, something similar to the mysterious orb of light was seen in Pennsylvania.

Also Read:Successful liftoff for SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission attempting first-ever private spacewalk

The crew of the spacecraft included second-time space flier and billionaire Jared Isaacman who will be in outer space for the next five days.

The mission was conceived byJared Isaacman, the billionaire founder of financial technology firm Shift4 Payments, who was part of the Inspiration4 mission in September 2021.

Former US Air Force pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet and SpaceX engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis are the other crew members.

The spaceship was spotted flying across the East Coast and moving horizontally towards the stars.

There have been roughly 270 spacewalks on the International Space Station (ISS) since its creation in 2000, and 16 by Chinese astronauts on Beijing's Tiangong space station. However, it would be the first time a private company would be chauffering the spacewalks.

How NYC people reacted to the Polaris Dawn spacecraft's spotting

Some of the people were unaware of the SpaceX journey in New York and hence confused it with something other-worldly.

Watch:SpaceX launches 'all civilian' Polaris mission: A new frontier in private space exploration

“That’s aliens dawg!” wrote one person. “There are enough extraterrestrials in NYC, if you ask me,” said another.

The Polaris Dawn has been on a record-breaking journey and will surpass the Earth-lapping record established during NASA’s Project Gemini in 1966.

(With inputs from agencies)