It looked like a scene out of Independence Day just before the aliens descended on New York City. A strange blue light flooded the night sky over NYC around 9:12 PM last night, and New Yorkers gazed with wonder and a little fear. Bill San Antonio, who was watching the phenomenon from a terminal at LaGuardia Airport described it to The New York Times as “a sort of unnatural, fluorescent shade of blue.” Yiota Andritsakis, a resident of Astoria, said, “We thought it was a U.F.O.”
Photo: FiettaD/Twitter
New Yorkers Freak Out After Sky Turns Bright Blue
Aliens attacking the Empire State Building or power plant transformer fire in Queens? 🤔#newyork #Bluelight #sky #Queens #NewYorkCity #explosion #astoria #nyc pic.twitter.com/uccbyufBDL
— Daniel Fietta (@FiettaD) December 28, 2018
The sudden and strange plume of smoke and blue flash was caused by a transformer explosion at the Con Edison energy company in Queens. According to the company’s statement on Twitter, there was a “brief electrical fire…which involved some electrical transformers and caused a transmission dip in the area.”
Confirming incident in #Astoria was result of transformer explosion. No injuries, no fire, no evidence of extraterrestrial activity. Please continue to follow @FDNY and @Conedison
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) December 28, 2018
Peter Dipietrantonio, who was close to the explosion, said to the Times that he heard a bang and then saw a green aura fill his window. He and his girlfriend even fled from the site of the blast, to ensure their safety. While there were no injuries, and no evidence of extraterrestrial activities, the phenomenon was undoubtedly frightening for many New Yorkers. 
H/T: BBC News