Mysterious Orbs Appear Over Kansas City

The National Weather Service was flummoxed by two mysterious white orbs that appeared in the skies over Kansas City Thursday evening. "We honestly have no explanation for the floating objects over Kansas City," the NWS tweeted, sharing a photo of the two spheres. In hundreds of replies to the tweet, residents speculated they could be balloons belonging to the Google Loon project, which uses high-altitude balloons to bring Internet connectivity to remote areas, the Kansas City Star reports. Others suspected aliens, possibly on a mission to kidnap Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, reports USA Today.

The NWS said the orbs weren't moving, making it unlikely that they were weather balloons. KMBC, which received numerous calls about the orbs floating near the airport, reports that the likeliest suspect appears to be the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The agency launched three balloons in Maryland Monday night for what it tweeted was a test to "demonstrate capability for wind-borne navigation of a lighter-than-air vehicle over extended ranges." It said the launch was part of its "Adaptable Lighter Than Air" program. (Last year, police determined that what appeared to be a murder was actually an elaborate suicide involving weather balloons.)