Strange, Mysterious Lights In Skies Over California Was Missile Test
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Social media lit up Saturday evening as people reported seeing strange lights in the skies over California and Nevada.
It began shortly before 6 p.m. Newsrooms in California report being flooded with calls.
Some speculated it was a meteor, others thought it was a UFO sighting.
Navy officials told the San Diego Union-Tribune it was an unarmed Trident II (D5) missile fired from a missile submarine. The test flight was visible across California, in Nevada and Arizona.
The Navy's report conflicted with an earlier report from fire officials in Kern County saying the lights were the result of rocket tests at Edwards Air Force Base. Officials at Edwards Air Force Base later denied the claim.
The Pentagon finally released a statement Saturday night, saying "launches are conducted on a frequent recurring basis to ensure the continued reliability of the system. The public wasn't notified ahead of time because Trident missile tests are classified prior to launch."
Lots of people were able to capture it on camera. (WARNING: Some posts have strong language)
@sdut pic.twitter.com/AXSNo9jh5u
— Matt Mangano (@mgmangano) November 8, 2015
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Seen over the Bay Area...was there a rocket launch somewhere today? pic.twitter.com/QVodlhPCMv
— Areitu (@areitu) November 8, 2015
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.#mysterylight over #Antioch. a #rocket or #meteor? Hearing this was rocket testing from Edwards Air Force Base pic.twitter.com/tE7hkmrwLu
— eastcountytoday.net (@eastcountytoday) November 8, 2015
There ya'll go. It's still in the sky. There's something in the sky spreading like white lights pic.twitter.com/zIPTT9ofDr
— BeastCoast (@holynipples12) November 8, 2015
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#imperialbeach did you see the weird #lights in the #sky expand and then dissipate? The blue one is still there. pic.twitter.com/g9m5eZllkU
— starTgeek (@startgeek) November 8, 2015
@KCBSNews here's another if you'd like to use it pic.twitter.com/ch3duLZZv0
— morgz (@morganasauruses) November 8, 2015
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CBSSF.com writer, producer Jan Mabry is also executive producer and host of The Bronze Report. She lives in Northern California. Follow her on Twitter @janmabr.
