Extra, extra! Extraterrestrials!

On Saturday night, the Internet at large suffered an intense flare-up of alien paranoia when California residents spotted a mysterious light in the sky—captured below by amateur paranormal filmmaker Josh Groban:

Footage of the light sparked intense discussions across Reddit, but one theory on the light’s source kept growing brighter and brighter:

Unfortunately, the “Unidentified Flying Object” didn’t remain unidentified for long. A tweet from the Orange County Sheriff explained that the flash was just a scheduled Navy missile test—originating from a submarine off California’s southern coast.

#OCSDPIO: Light seen in OC sky was confirmed through JWA tower to be a Naval test fire off the coast. No further details. — OC Sheriff, CA (@OCSD) November 8, 2015

To many, the explanation was disappointing:

Before the Navy “harshed” the Internet’s collective “mellow,” redditors were having a fantastic time entertaining the possibility of visitors from another planet. After the news broke, some even downvoted comments with non-alien explanations in hopes of keeping the discussion going.

Of course, other social media sites were no exception:

Perhaps the new wave of E.T. fever marks an era of acceptance for humankind. As NASA scientists actively search for alien planets, the rest of us are quick to see an “alien megastructure” in every swarm of comets and an incoming vessel in every Navy test fire.

Think about it: In the past 67 years, our image of Martians has gone from this:

To this:

To this:

Yup. This is how we picture aliens in 2015:

Maybe earthlings are finally ready—nay, excited—for extraterrestrials to visit our planet.

After all, Earth hasn’t had many guests over the past few millennia. Redditors’ reaction to Saturday’s incident could be the daydreams of an anxious host—our planet-wide version of “Did I hear someone at the door?”

Of course, there could be a much simpler explanation.

Perhaps humans are dumb, and they just have a natural propensity for getting confused by unexpected changes in the amount of light in the sky. Last weekend, it was the end of Daylight Saving Time. This weekend, Navy test missiles. May God have mercy on the first house in the neighborhood to put up Christmas lights.