LOS ANGELES — Multiple witnesses on Saturday evening reported seeing an unexplained light in the skies above Southern California, and there were several reported sightings across Utah as well. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department now reports the light is from a “Naval test fire off the coast.”
KTLA reports that a Navy spokesman told the San Diego Union-Tribune that the luminous object was an unarmed Trident missile that was test-fired from a submarine off the coast of Southern California.
Cmdr. Ryan Perry, of the Navy’s Third Fleet, said the Trident II (D5) was launched as scheduled by an Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine in the Pacific Test Range, the Union-Tribune reported.
Residents reported seeing the bright phenomenon in Anaheim, Temecula, Rancho Palos Verdes and Santa Monica. Locally, FOX 13 News viewers in southern Utah reported seeing the light in the sky as well. Viewers in places like Lehi, Milford, Price, Springville and Hurricane also reported seeing the phenomenon.
Hundreds of photos and videos have been shared on social media, including in the comments of FOX 13’s post about the sightings.
KTLA reached out to local authorities to identify the object.
Prior to the revelation from the Navy, several speculated that the object may have been a rocket or comet.
