A dazzling streak of light lit up the night sky over Southern California early Tuesday morning (April 2), leaving residents amazed and puzzled. The fiery spectacle, which some described as a "sparkler in the sky," was visible over a wide area, including Los Angeles and beyond.
According to NBC Los Angeles, the mysterious light appeared around 1:45 a.m., according to eyewitness reports. One of the observers, Jarred Gonzalez, managed to capture the event on video in the Pico Union area.
"The light from the front was bright blue. It was visible to us for a good 30 seconds, then disappeared from our line of sight." Another observer, Roseleen Browne, was walking her dog in Hollywood when she spotted the unusual sight.
"It was just like a sparkler in the sky, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. A girl was walking by, and I was like 'Did you see this?' It was just magical. It didn’t seem very real."
The light show followed a SpaceX rocket launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, located about 160 miles northwest of Los Angeles, approximately six hours earlier. The Falcon 9 rocket delivered about two dozen Starlink internet satellites to low-Earth orbit. However, there was no evidence to confirm a connection between the Falcon 9 rocket launched Monday night (April 1) and the lights seen early Tuesday morning.
The lights appeared similar to those seen over the West Coast in March 2021 when debris from a SpaceX rocket did not entirely burn up before entering Earth's atmosphere. However, officials have not yet confirmed the cause of the recent spectacle.
NBCLA has reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration, SpaceX, NORAD, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for more details. As of now, the source of the shimmering streak remains a mystery.