Images from the sky over Türkiye catch the world's attention

A strange cloud with a rare shape, looking like a flying saucer, became the center of attention after appearing in Bursa, Türkiye.

The nearly round cloud - a lenticular - appeared to maintain its unique shape for about an hour on the morning of January 19 in the sky over the city of Bursa, northwestern Türkiye, the Guardian reported on January 21.

Some social media users recorded this rare phenomenon on their phones. The strange cloud appeared at sunrise and attracted a lot of attention because of its shape like a flying saucer with a large hole in the middle.

"#Unusual sunrise in Turkey this morning. This is footage of a rare natural phenomenon called #UFO lenticular cloud or foehn spy cloud" , a social media follower wrote in a post sharing photos and videos of the UFO cloud.

"A magnificent lenticular cloud appeared in the sky over Bursa, Turkey this morning ," another user exclaimed.

A lenticular cloud, shaped like a UFO, appeared on the morning of January 19 in the sky over the city of Bursa, northwestern Türkiye. (Photo: @ByronJWalker)

Videos and photos of the strange cloud quickly went viral around the world and received explosive attention, with hundreds of social media users saying the cloud looked like a UFO.

Many major newspapers and news agencies around the world such as the Guardian, BBC, CNN. have posted videos of this strange cloud with the title 'Strange UFO-like cloud hovering in the sky of Turkey'.

However, Turkey's State Meteorological Service explained that the rare phenomenon was simply a "lenticular cloud".

Lenticular clouds are known for their curved, flying-saucer-like shape. They are usually found at altitudes of 2,000-5,000m, according to the BBC.

Lenticular clouds often form where moist air flows over mountains. The moving air creates large-scale standing waves in the direction of the wind.

If the temperature at the top of the wave drops below the dew point, the moisture in the air condenses to form lenticular clouds. These typically form in winter, but can be seen at other times of the year.

This type of cloud can also signal rain the next day or a more humid atmosphere before an upcoming storm.

In the case of Bursa, a cold front was approaching western Turkey on January 19. Bursa is located at the foot of a mountain range. This partly explains the UFO-like cloud phenomenon seen .