Citizens in the UAE were left perplexed on seeing a hole in the skies above Al Ain. Locals said that a mysterious 'whirlpool hole' appeared in the sky this weekend. The incident got social media talking after astronomer and meteorologist Ebrahim Al Jarwan posted a short video clip of the hole on Twitter. He referred to the sight as 'rare and beautiful' and that it was a 'Fallstreak hole' or 'hole punch cloud'.

The video was quick to go viral with people coming up with various explanations. Some said the hole in the sky looked like a 'fallstreak hole'. One said that 'God has thrown a stone into a lake' while others suggested it could be an extraterrestrial UFO. As the video was being widely shared on Twitter, meteorologists explained the scientific phenomenon. The so-called 'holes' are generally formed in mid- to -high-level clouds made of supercooled water droplets. This happens when water droplets are below zero degrees but not frozen. It is also known as hole-punch cloud and generally looks elliptical or circular in shape. 'Flaming Orange' Meteor Spotted in Skies Above Adelaide in Australia (Watch Video)

Here is what 'Whirlpool Hole' looked like:

Watch the video below:

A change in temperature makes the supercooled droplets to freeze and form ice crystals. They are large and fall from the sky in a different pattern. At times, holes in fallstreak formations can expand upto 50 km across within an hour as neighbouring droplets freeze. The incident is completely a scientific phenomenon but people generally mistake it for a UFO. Fallstreak holes are quite rare and not often appear in the skies.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 18, 2019 09:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).