VANDENBERG BASE: When SpaceX launched a rocket carrying an Argentine Earth-observation satellite from California, both the night sky and social media lit up.

People as far away as Phoenix and Sacramento posted photos of the Falcon 9 rocket’s launch and return on Sunday night. It was the first time SpaceX landed a first-stage booster back at its launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base, about 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

The Air Force warned residents on the central California coast they might see multiple engine burns by the first stage and hear one or more sonic booms as it returned.

But many were taken by surprise when the launch illuminated the sky, wondering what the otherworldly looking sight was. Some speculated it was a comet or an alien aircraft.

“Something exploded in the sky west of Phoenix,” Laura Gadbery wrote on Twitter. “Anyone catch it or know what it was?” Lloyd Lawrence, another user in Phoenix more than 530 miles away from the launch site said he was driving on Interstate 10 when he saw the launch and “couldn’t believe my eyes.” “I wondered who was holding the gigantic flashlight in the sky,” he wrote.

Californians from Los Angeles to Sacramento more than 340 miles from the launch site also posted their confusion.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti was among those trying to clear up the speculation, tweeting a photo of the launch and writing: “Nope, definitely not aliens.” Those who knew they were watching a satellite launch posted videos they captured of the stunning spectacle, including one taken over the downtown Los Angeles skyline and a timelapse from Kern County.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2018