Photos and videos of a lens-shaped cloud forming over Turkey have caused a stir online.
The oddly shaped cloud appeared in Turkey's Bursa province on January 19, burning red in light reflected from the sunrise and appearing to loom close to houses and cars.
Images and video footage posted online sparked cries of hoax — but the cloud was very much real.
A lenticular cloud forms when water in the air moves across different terrains quickly, creating a shape that mirrors the land beneath.
The shape of the cloud is not unexpected, given Bursa's location in a mountainous area of the country's north-west.
Some social media users said the cloud resembled a UFO or an eye. One user said it looked like a cinnamon roll.
“Were they added in post-editing or were they real?” one user asked on Twitter. “What is the purpose of this strange [thing] in the sky? It feels like a UFO — again, nature is really amazing.”
