- Residents in British Columbia spotted a cone-shaped light drifting across the night sky on Tuesday
- The light was seen in Williams Lake, Prince George, and Fort St John between 10:15 pm and 10:30 pm PT
- Videos showed a large, cone-like glow moving silently before dissipating in the distance
Residents in British Columbia, Canada, spotted a cone-shaped light slowly drifting across the night sky on Tuesday, the New York Post reported. The mysterious light sent the observers into a frenzy, with many fearing UFOs or worse. But by Wednesday morning, the astronomers revealed what it was. On Tuesday, social media was flooded with reports of sightings of the strange light in Williams Lake, Prince George, and Fort St John between 10:15 pm and 10:30 pm PT. Videos posted on various platforms showed a large, amorphous, cone-like glow moving silently across the horizon before dissipating.
Patsy Seymour, who posted footage on Facebook, said the light "appeared to dissipate" as it travelled into the distance. CBC reporter Andrew Kurjata was among those who saw it. "Multiple residents reported seeing a large, white shape slowly move across the horizon before disappearing from view," CBC wrote.
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Watch the video here:
On social media, suggestions ranged from an errant weather balloon to "something more out of this world". The phenomenon was visible across hundreds of kilometres.
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What was it?
The experts finally revealed that it had happened because of SpaceX. Malhar Kendurkar, who is associated with the Prince George Astronomical Observatory, told CBC Radio he saw the object and he was certain the light was a "jellyfish effect". It was apparently a result of the Falcon 9 rocket that was launched around 9 pm from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
After the launch, the rocket's second stage climbed into the upper atmosphere, its exhaust expanded in the near-vacuum, creating a cloud-like plume.
The cone shape comes from the rocket plume reflecting sunlight long after sunset on the ground - a phenomenon often called the "jellyfish" or "twilight" effect.
Michael Unger, director of programming at Vancouver's H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, confirmed it was not a natural occurrence like a cloud or meteor. "It certainly looks controlled," he told CBC. "Those things are just more common in our society now."
"I think when we do get some of these instances, it sparks that curiosity of reminding ourselves that there is a lot up there that we're missing and we don't know," he said.
