Photo credit: J Rafael Cerda
A mysterious light spotted in the evening sky over Northern California has caused quite the stir on social media. Some residents in the Redding area reported seeing a circular item quickly drop in the sky about 5:35 p.m. PST yesterday (Dec. 20), shortly before the streak in the sky appeared, but the National Weather Service quickly commented on the strange phenomenon, suggesting it was probably be a meteor, and not a downed rocket or UFO. “So if the #DeltaIVHeavy launch isn’t happening until 549pm, what is that (in) the sky?,” Tweeted Anthony Wright. Read more for another video and additional information
Meteorologist with the National Weather Service Scott Carroll said the footage of the streak suggests that it originated in the sky and came in the direction of Earth, rather than the other way around, and could also be debris from a satellite. Others speculated the phenomenon was from a planned satellite launch, but it turned out that launch Wednesday night from Vandenberg Air Force Base was canceled.
“Coincidentally or not, the California Highway Patrol received a second-hand report just past 5:30 p.m. of a possible aircraft crash and fire in the Fall River Mills area of Shasta County, about 160 miles north of Sacramento. There was no immediate confirmation of a a plane crash,” according to USA Today.
