Residents in British Columbia’s north and Interior, along with parts of Alberta and Vancouver Island, were left puzzled by a strange sighting in the night sky on Tuesday evening. Between 10:15 and 10:30 p.m. PT, numerous witnesses observed a large, white object slowly traversing the horizon before vanishing from sight.
Sarah and Jared Siemens from Vanderhoof, B.C., who had recently discussed the existence of UFOs with their son, were astonished when they witnessed the phenomenon shortly afterward. Videos capturing the mysterious shape have surfaced on community Facebook groups from Williams Lake to Prince George to Fort St. John, spanning hundreds of kilometers. Reports of the sighting have also emerged from various locations including the Nass Valley, Kamloops, Oliver, Vancouver Island, and Sherwood Park, Alta.
Speculation surrounding the sighting ranged from a weather balloon to a SpaceX rocket. Malhar Kendurkar, the president of the Prince George Astronomical Observatory, identified the object as SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. He explained that the rocket’s distinctive appearance, resembling a glowing cloud due to the booster’s exhaust expanding in the upper atmosphere, was visible after its launch from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California earlier that evening.
As the night sky becomes increasingly crowded with drones, private satellites, and rockets like those operated by SpaceX, instances of unidentified aerial phenomena are becoming more frequent. This trend of heightened sky and space activity, facilitated by the ability to capture and share sightings, serves as a valuable tool for scientists monitoring celestial events.