Thousands of people saw the mysterious light plowing across the sky shortly after dusk and flooded area officials with telephone calls and reports on social media, according to KTVU.com, a Fox-TV affiliate in the San Francisco Bay Area..
Amateur reports about the object ranged from missile to extra-terrestrial comet or meteor, since the annual Taurid meteor shower began Thursday.
But a Navy spokesman quickly released a statement saying the object actually was an unarmed Trident missile launched in the Pacific Test Range under a prearranged schedule
“Each test activity provides valuable information about our systems, thus contributing to assurance in our capabilities,” Cmdr. Ryan Perry of the Navy’s Third Fleet said in a written statement.
Earlier, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said on the social media site Twitter that the object was a missile test.
“Light seen in OC sky was confirmed through JWA tower to be a Naval test fire off the coast,” sheriff’s deputies said, referring to John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana.
A spokeswoman for Vandenberg Air Force Base, in Santa Barbara County, said the facility did not launch a rocket on Saturday.
Some initial reports attributed the incident to remnants of the Taurid meteor shower.
According to AccuWeather, cosmic fireballs are expected to light up the sky occasionaly as the meteor shower peaks this week.
“Every year, the Earth passes through a stream left by Comet Encke, producing the Taurid meteor shower,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Dave Samuhel said. “This shower is notorious for producing fireballs, and there are signs that this could be a year of enhanced activity.”
The peak is expected to continue through Nov. 12.
