MYSTERY surrounds a photo taken by a schoolgirl after it captured an unexplained set of lights in the night sky above a North Ayrshire housing estate.

Rosie Bowman, 15, snapped the UFO as it hovered above her home in The Rise, Largs on Saturday night - and the image has got the town talking.

The teenager took the photo with her phone after spotting the unusual formation of lights coming from what appears to be a curved cylinder shaped craft high above the street.

Her mum Grace, who owns Boutique Hair Spa at Largs Pierhead, has shown the snap to customers and says everyone is fascinated by what it could be.

Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald: The set of lights could be seen above the housing estateThe set of lights could be seen above the housing estate

She told the Largs and Millport Weekly News: "Rosie was quick to take a photo and when you zoom in it does look very strange.

"We wondered if it could have bene some astronomical phenomenon but it does seem odd.

"Everyone who has come into the shop has been talking about and has a different take on it - maybe it is indeed aliens and the truth is out there after all!"

Grace added: "The lights seem to be in a row, or some sort of formation.

"We have asked friends if they have any idea what it could be, but so far everyone is baffled and can't come up with an explanation.

Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald: Grace BowmanGrace Bowman

"There was some suggestions they could be space satellites sent up by Elon Musk's Space X while other people have said they could be Chinese lanterns but it is still a mystery.

"Whether it is extra terrestrial or not, it certainly looks out of the ordinary. Maybe we can ask Mulder and Scully from the X Files to take a look!

"I always try to keep an open mind with things like these. It is too big a universe to think that some areas aren't supporting some sort of life.

"For me it's hard to think we are alone."

Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald:

Starlink is a chain of satellites launched by Elon Musk's company SpaceX, which will form part of a massive network of 12,000 satellites aiming to provide new higher-speed internet connections across the world in the future.

One astronomic possibility for the mystery lights show above The Rise is lightning sprites, which are known to meteorologists, nature photographers and others who study the skies.

These are electrical discharges high in Earth's atmosphere which extends directly above Earth, and can occur in the planets mesosphere, up to 50 miles high in the sky.

* Did you see the lights in the sky or have an explanation? Have you seen any strange sights in the sky? Contact our newsdesk.