On Nov. 7, Saturday, people in California saw something unusual in the sky. Although many were curious, others felt scared at the sight since they could not identify what it was. Plus, there were reports of explosion that night which heightened their anxiety.
Residents started crowding the streets to take photos and videos of a bluish light hovering above them. Upon close inspection, people did not dismissed the idea that it could also be a ‘UFO' or perhaps, a Taurid meteor shower.
But Brian Keating, an astrophysicist at UC San Diego, stated that definitely, it was not a meteor. As he said on San Diego Union Tribune, "The Taurid meteors would be coming from the east - and this light came from the west. We'd also be more likely to see meteors about midnight, and the flash came near sunset."
Still, witnesses threw in many other guesses but only a few mentioned about a missile, and it was indeed a missile as confirmed by the Navy. The powerful weapon was spotted in San Diego and Los Angeles as well as Nevada and Arizona.
The clips captured by the residents show the missile darting across the dark sky. It was just a speck of light in the beginning and it slowly transitioned to a ball of bright bluish light.
Apparently, the firing of the missile was part of a testing being conducted by the Navy. It was done around the Pacific Test Range where periodic test fires of standard cruise missiles from submarines or battle ships were usually carried out.
In last Saturday's testing, it was relayed to the media by a Navy spokesman that what they fired was the "Trident II." He added that the weapon was launched on schedule, as part of system evaluation that is currently taking place.
The Trident II missile is the main feature of the US' army's capacity to avert any nuclear attack. Improving this weapon is the highest priority now so testings are ongoing.
"Each test activity provides valuable information about our systems, thus contributing to assurance in our capabilities," said Navy's Third Fleet Commander, Ryan Perry via People. And regarding the safety concerns on the firing, he added, "The missile was not armed."
Moreover, CNN reported that the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) also issued a statement regarding the military testings.
An excerpt from the statement read: "The military airspace to the west of LAX will be active for one week, creating traffic route limitations and requiring LAX to temporarily deviate from over-ocean operations."
The testings will go on until Nov. 12.
