--- description: Officials in New York City have confirmed the blue light night was not the work of aliens. But try telling that to people on social media. title: People Were Convinced That Blue Flash in New York City Was Aliens image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a10e9b2d6447090/6989425d457a523cc3d6038d/AP18362090290133.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [viral](/tag/viral/) ## viral Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # People Were Convinced That Blue Flash in New York City Was Aliens by [George Steer](/author/george-steer/) ## George Steer Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 28, 2018 3:45 PM CUT  This photo shows blue light over New York, as seen from Manhattan Brough of New York on Dec. 27, 2018. This photo shows blue light over New York, as seen from Manhattan Brough of New York on Dec. 27, 2018.Jay Reeves—AP by [George Steer](/author/george-steer/) ## George Steer Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 28, 2018 3:45 PM CUT Officials in New York have confirmed the [spectacular blue light that illuminated the city’s skyline](http://time.com/5489631/new-york-con-edison-explosion-blue-sky/ "undefined") Thursday night was not the work of aliens. But try telling that to people on social media. > [](https://twitter.com/EricFPhillips/status/1078482431693475840) The official line on the blue light phenomena is that at around 9:12 p.m. Thursday night there was an electrical surge, followed by an explosion, at a Con Edison substation in Astoria, Queens. Con Edison spokesman Bob McGee sought to reassure New Yorkers Friday morning. “What people were seeing was an electrical arc flash,” he told [CNN](https://edition.cnn.com/2018/12/27/us/ny-fires-con-ed-power-plant/index.html "undefined"). The light was blue because of the nitrogen and oxygen in the air when the electricity arced through it, he added. But the idea that aliens were somehow involved would not go away, despite assurances from the NYPD. > [](https://twitter.com/NYPDnews/status/1078503090351935488) > [](https://twitter.com/bvks%5F/status/1078488227982512128) > [](https://twitter.com/slyboogie12/status/1078521557926981633) The blue light was only the latest example of New Yorkers claiming visitors from another world had come to the Big Apple. According to the National UFO Reporting Center, there have been 18 UFO sightings in New York [in the last two months](http://www.nuforc.org/webreports/ndxlNY.html "undefined"). > [](https://twitter.com/JVC341/status/1078481820721795072) > [](https://twitter.com/AlizaTweets/status/1078475299061420032) Others were quick to link the light to the upcoming Men In Black film, parts of which were shot close to Astoria. > [](https://twitter.com/JosephPinion/status/1078619947658555393) Some were quick to liken the blue glow in the night sky to the [giant sky-beams](https://observer.com/2016/08/a-quick-word-from-the-giant-sky-beam-in-every-superhero-movie/ "undefined") (which often portend an alien invasion or the opening of a cosmic portal to another dimension) seen in so many contemporary science-fiction movies. > [](https://twitter.com/stefabsky/status/1078478797752713218) And for a few New Yorkers, the light signaled the end of days. > [](https://twitter.com/Willi%5FMae/status/1078474964167208961) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5489703/blue-light-new-york-aliens/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5489703/blue-light-new-york-aliens/"},"headline":"People Were Convinced That Blue Flash in New York City Was Aliens","datePublished":"2018-12-28T15:45:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T22:22:04.055Z","description":"Officials in New York City have confirmed the blue light night was not the work of aliens. 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