Tag: naval rocket

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Meteor? Comet? UFO? Skies light up over California Nov-7-2015

The skies seem to have lit up over california tonight (Nov 7 2015). A large object was recorded by people on the West Coast of the United States which lit up the night sky as it crossed high above.  This event was caught by hundreds of people via HD video.  Check out some of the video coverage:

Here is some incredible footage by Julian:

More from Twitter user “Champ”

Another from Elijah here:

Another shot of the breakup from Twitter user jess:

Another by Nick:

 

At first look it seems like a meteor broke up high in the atmosphere putting on a spectacular display for all those in the area, but there may be more to this story.  The large shock-wave & circular expulsions would seem to imply this was possibly man-made and travelling at high speed.

Some theorize that it was military in nature- which may prove to be fully true as this does resemble rocket staging.  The amazing color and dispersion could also be simply a result of the atmosphere above still being lit by the sun while the ground below experiences twilight/darkness.

Mashable reports this was indeed a rocket firing from the US Navy at Point Mugu Naval Air Station.

If the dispersion and visibility was indeed a result of the rocket plume still being illuminated by the sun, this is indeed, not a new phenomenon.  If you have ever seen a satellite cross the sky just before dusk, or just before dawn- this is the same physics.  The sun can illuminate items above the earth while we on the ground perceive only darkness.

On the heels of the “Great Pumpkin” asteroid which was nearly not detected at all, this has gotten many people in to a bit of an uproar.

In the upcoming days we can expect the experts to weigh in on the source of this “UFO” but to summarize- we were all privy to a spectacular nighttime event which shall now be recorded for all time thanks to cell phones and social media.

Have a theory?  Post it below.