What caused purple sky in Prince George's County?

LANDOVER, Md. - A mysterious purple light illuminated the sky over Prince George's County late Sunday evening, sending FOX 5 viewers scrambling for answers.

Several viewers sent photos and videos to FOX 5 of the purple sky with most of the footage coming from the Landover area.

"Can you all get to the bottom of the purple/pink skies last night?" Missy Sharpe asked on the FOX 5 Facebook page.

We chatted with FOX 5 Meteorologist Mike Thomas, who answered the question we were all wondering: No, it's not aliens.

Mike explained that every light needs a source, but due to the time of day it was unlikely that the source was the sun.

Therefore, Mike said the light likely came from an "artificial source" on the ground, such as city lights.

Mike said the cloud deck was very low in the sky Sunday evening as warmer air pushed into the region. Patchy fog was also reported in the region.

Mike explained that light can get scattered around by moisture particles, which he believes is the best and most plausible explanation for the purple sky.