A large bright object traveling north over the Hudson Valley was spotted by many who raced to social media to find out what was going on.

People from Newburgh to Poughkeepsie to Kingston were fixated on the sky as a white, triangular object flew above their heads. The bright, flying light was followed by a long tail of light that appeared to shine through water vapor in the air.

Social media was filled with people wondering what they just witnesses. Some thought it was a giant military helicopter, others believed it was a meteor or some sort of comet. There were a few who said the first thing they thought was that the light was extraterrestrial.

Rudy Napora was stopped at a red light on Route 9W in Highland when he saw the light. He quickly grabbed his phone and captured video of the object floating above.

Videos and photos from locations up and down the Hudson Valley began to pop up all over the Internet, adding to the mystery of this unknown phenomenon.

Facebook/Larua Bell
Facebook/Larua Bell
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Laura Bell was traveling on the New York State Thruway when she snapped an image of the super-bright triangular light zooming across the sky. Some pictures showed a more defined "tip" in front of the object, while others made it appear that the light was a round ball.

Some speculated that the light could be a military plane of some sort. Pine Bush, New York is famous for its "UFO" sightings. While some believe extra-terrestrial beings have visited the Hudson Valley, many of these encounters can be explained as stealth aircraft on maneuvers around Stewart Airforce Base.

This light, however, started well below Newburgh and traveled as far north as Albany, where Aidan O'Loendorf captured a spectacular shot of the object above the Alcove Reservoir. His mother shared the image online as she saw more and more people post about the mysterious light.

Facebook/Aidan O'Loendorf
Facebook/Aidan O'Loendorf
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After speculation over the light turned to a fever pitch, local authorities took to social media to assure residents that this wasn't some sort of alien invasion or killer meteor. In fact, the light was a spectacular display of technology.

It turns out that the bright light was a spacecraft, but not one of alien origin.

Matthew O. Brimer posted a video of the light as seen from the Hudson Valley. The Twitter user explained that it was the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that was launched from Cape Canaveral earlier on Saturday. The rocket is carrying more of SpaceX's Starlink satellites which will be released into a low orbit over the earth to supply high-speed wifi to residents below.

This is the 43rd orbital mission for SpaceX, but one of the most visible from the Hudson Valley.

Did you see the bright light over the Hudson Valley on Saturday? If so, we'd love to see your pictures and video. You can send them to us through our mobile app.

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