Many people around the Lehigh Valley and the East Coast were puzzled by a light seen streaking across the sky Saturday evening.
Was it a meteor? Something otherworldly? Turns out there’s a very simple explanation: SpaceX’s latest Falcon 9 rocket launch in Florida.
The rocket launch at 7:32 p.m. from Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral sent 52 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit, according to a SpaceX news release.
A short time later, posts began flooding social media showing a bright, almost arrow shaped light, shooting across the night sky.
One of those posts included pics taken by John Gashinski in Nazareth. A friend of his who shared the pics on Twitter knew the source of the light, but was surprised it could be seen so far north.
Facebook user “Rubix Que” from Palmer Township also captured an amazing photo of the phenomenon.
Sonia Raimundo captured video of the light from Belleville, N.J., not far away from New York City.
Others weren’t initially aware of the rocket launch and shared their pics and videos, curious as to the source of the mysterious lights and wondering if they were the only ones who saw it.
It’s not the first time a SpaceX rocket launch was visible from the Lehigh Valley. A similar bright streak was seen from a March 2021 launch out of Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Did you capture a photo or video of the light? E-mail your pics to mobile@mcall.com.
