© Sergey Anisimov
The extraordinary scenes were captured by leading Siberian photographer Sergey Anisimov in the town of Salekhard which straddles the Arctic Circle.
has been hit by a wave of reports of a giant UFO in the sky last night with spectacular pictures of an enormous glowing ball illuminating northern Siberia.
Social media erupted with claims of 'aliens arriving' and locals in far flung parts of the country told of 'shivers down their spines'.
While the source of the light has not been confirmed, some have suggested that it was the trace of four rockets launched by the Russian military that caused this extraordinary phenomenon in the night sky.
A similar light was seen in the skies over Norway in December 2009, which was caused by a failed missile. During that incident, the peculiar spiral shaped light pattern was created from reflection of the sun in the leaking fuel.
Vasily Zubkov posted: 'I went out to smoke a cigarette and thought it was the end of the world.'
The extraordinary scenes were captured by leading Siberian photographer Sergey Anisimov in the town of Salekhard which straddles the Arctic Circle.
'I was taken aback for a few minutes, not understanding what was happening,' he said.
Comment: UPDATE: Mexico has a possible explanation for this event (if you believe it). Strange Sounds reports: The question is: Why is it that no one considered the possibility of a bolide entering the atmosphere? Is it because falling rocks are scary when they become something more than shooting stars?