At approximately 10:30 p.m. on May 25, cameras trained on the Philippines' most active volcano, Mount Mayon, captured a rare double spectacle: a brilliant green meteor streaking behind the volcano's glowing lava flows, followed by a small white light that briefly rose from the scene. Social media erupted with UFO speculation, but according to experts including theoretical physicist Avi Loeb and NASA's Bill Cooke, the meteor disintegrated harmlessly in the atmosphere, and the secondary light was likely sunlight glinting off one of the more than 10,000 communications satellites orbiting Earth.

The 140-Day Vigil That Captured a Cosmic Coincidence

Mount Mayon, a near-perfect cone in the province of Albay, had been in a state of effusive eruption for 140 consecutive days at the time of the event, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS). This persistent activity meant that multiple live-stream cameras operated by afarTV and other monitoring stations were already pointed at the volcano around the clock. As volcanologist Rebecca Williams noted in the source report, the chance of capturing a meteor passing directly behind an erupting volcano is heightened precisely because of such continuous surveillance — a point that turns what looks like an extraordinary coincidence into a statistical by-product of dedicated monitoring .

Why Avi Loeb Pointed at a Satellite Instead of Aliens

Within hours of the footage spreading online, theoretical physicist Avi Loeb offered a prosaic explanation for the white light that followed the meteor: a glint from a communications satellite catching sunlight at just the right angle. with over 10,000 active satellites in low Earth orbit, such reflections are not rare, but the timing — appearing immediately after the meteor — made it appear as if the light was ascending from the volcano.. Loeb's explanation aligns with standard orbital mechanics, yet the source report does not identify a specific satellite that might have been overhead at that moment, leaving a small open question for satellite-trackers to verify.

How PHIVOLCS Corrected Its Own Initial Claim

In the immediate aftermath,PHIVOLCS reported that the meteor had struck the volcano's northern slopes. But as the agency later explained, a thorough review of seismic, infrasound, and additional camera data led to a correction: the meteoroid vaporized entirely in the atmosphere and did not impact the mountain. Physicist Peter Brown confirmed that small fireballs commonly disintegrate before reaching the ground, a point reinforced by a local resident from Los Baños who described the fireball as “terrifyingly bright,” burning green and white for less than a second before vanishing into the clouds. The correction demonstrates how even expert agencies can misread a high-speed event, and why multi-instrument verification matters.

The Persistent Allure of UFOs in a Volcanic Backdrop

Despite the straightforward scientific explanations — a meteor disintegration and a satellite glint — the video continues to fuel UFO theories on social media. The source report notes that the secondary white light, seen rising, sparked the most speculation, with users interpreting it as an unidentified flying object ascending from the eruption. This pattern mirrors a long history of volcanic events being misinterpreted as paranormal activity, from lightning-lit ash clouds to lens flares . The psychological bias at play is one of pattern-seeking: a volcanic eruption is already a dramatic focus, and any coincidental celestial phenomenon becomes a canvas for narratives of the unknown. the source does not explore why the UFO narrative persists even after expert debunking, leaving that as a question for psychologists and media critics.