Chopper 2 HD captured images of a red-hot streak ripping through the NYC sky nearing dusk on Nov. 10, 2010. (Photo: CBS 2)

NEW YORK (CBS 2) — Did you see it? Chopper 2 HD sure did.

It was a bizarre, glowing red-hot streak in the sky — right at sunset Wednesday — moving briskly behind the Manhattan skyline.

CBS 2 reached out to a top astronomer who looked at the video. He said it looks beautiful, but that is was like nothing more than what’s known as a “contrail” — condensation from a commercial or military jet.

The aliens, apparently, are not coming.

The sighting came one day after a mysterious condensation trail was spotted off the coast of California. Speculation over the object that caused it ranged from a fired missile to a contrail from a commercial airliner.

Most experts now believe an airplane caused that vapor trail.

What went down over the skies of NYC Wednesday was just the latest in a series of weird events that have captivated tri-state area residents over the last few years. Back on Oct. 13, CBS 2 cameras captured objects in the sky while shooting up above Chelsea at 23rd Street and Eighth Avenue.

Local media and the NYPD received several calls throughout that afternoon.

However, as CBS 2 cameras showed, the objects appeared to be yellow balloons, although there was initially no official confirmation from the NYPD. On the streets below there was a lot of intrigue about the mystery that was going on up above.

Strange sightings in the sky are not new to our area. Back in January of 2009, odd red, blinking lights could be seen across Morris County, N.J., and officials thought they had figured out what caused them.

In the end, though, it wasn’t exactly a close encounter.

It turns out the lights were part of a hoax. Prosecutors said two men with too much time on their hands pulled off the trick with five flares, fishing line and helium balloons.

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