California’s UFO sighting had social media abuzz about videos of the mysterious light in the sky, which could be seen in major Southern California cities like San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Some on social media attributed the UFO sighting to aliens, or even Donald Trump. Others speculated the easily visible object was the Taurid meteor shower, caused by the Comet Encke. But, it turns out a U.S. Navy submarine is responsible for creating the light show.
In a related report by the Inquisitr, secret U.S. military operations over the Pacific Ocean were planned in advance of this weekend. LAX airport officials were told they needed to divert air traffic, causing the Los Angeles airport to say, “We clearly understand that neighbors and communities east of the airport will experience noise and we apologize for that.”
In addition, Los Angeles County Lost Hills Station issued a traffic alert via Twitter which noted, “lights and lasers can be seen from beach and coastline” due to “military exercises off of Catalina Island.” They said there was “no need to call 911.”
Starting to give up hope that this was the pfunk mothership come to save humanity from itself. #UFO pic.twitter.com/Lcc1cdrf9S
— Matt Wall of Sleep (@oldmanwall) November 8, 2015
Part of the reason the UFO sighting caused speculation about aliens and an UFO mothership is because officials confirmed that a U.S. naval test fire did not come from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in Santa Barbara County. At the same time, the U.S. Navy did say that California’s light in the sky can be attributed to a Trident II (D5) missile that was test-fired from an Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine off the coast of Southern California.
Cmdr. Ryan Perry, of the U.S. Navy’s Third Fleet, said naval test fires are a frequent occurrence because the military needs to ensure the functionality and reliability of their systems.
“Each test activity provides valuable information about our systems, thus contributing to assurance in our capabilities,” he said in a statement, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. The report also notes, “Navy periodically uses the range to test fire Tomahawk and Standard cruise from surface ships and submarines.”
California’s light in the sky was also independently confirmed to be a U.S. Navy missile by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. “Light seen in OC sky was confirmed through JWA tower to be a Naval test fire off the coast,” they said on Twitter, referring to John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana.
The idea that aliens caused California’s UFO sighting may be completely off, but social media was being reasonable about Comet Encke. The Taurid meteor shower is expected to cause bright fireballs from November 5 through November 12.
“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. Usually the shower only produces 5-10 meteors per hour.”
The visibility for these meteor showers is expected to be very good in Southern California, but Brian Keating, an astrophysicist at UC San Diego, dismissed the idea that the Taurid meteor shower would cause the light in the sky.
“The Taurid meteors would be coming from the east — and this light came from the west,” Keating said. “We’d also be more likely to see meteors about midnight, and the flash came near sunset.”
@realDonaldTrump is not happy about this #UFO sighting! #DonaldTrump#Aliens#Meteor in Southern California pic.twitter.com/ECOboU3i3L
— Alex Aguilar (@Team_Aguilar) November 8, 2015
[Image via Preston Newman Photography/Instagram]
