# Fireball in SoCal sky, 1/18 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 19, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireball-in-socal-sky-1-18/481919 "2009-01-19T01:44:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireball-in-socal-sky-1-18/481919/1 "2009-01-19T01:44:36Z")
Did anyone else see a fireball in the evening sky above the high desert area of Southern California this evening at approximately 5:30? My brother just called and reported a huge bolide that travelled north to south over his house in Apple Valley, CA. Anyone else see it? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireball-in-socal-sky-1-18/481919/2 "2009-01-19T02:58:15Z")
In southern California moving north to south, it’s possible that it was a launch of some sort from Vandenberg Air Force Base, rather than a natural meteor. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireball-in-socal-sky-1-18/481919/3 "2009-01-19T03:03:44Z")
It wouldn’t have been ‘over’ Apple Valley, then? Vandenberg likes to shoot those things where cities aren’t, right? One teensy mistake and boy, are their faces red, and all that. No, didn’t see it myself. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireball-in-socal-sky-1-18/481919/4 "2009-01-19T03:40:09Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > In southern California moving north to south, it’s possible that it was a launch of some sort from Vandenberg Air Force Base, rather than a natural meteor. Since Vandenberg is considerably west from Apple Valley, this is highly unlikely. Not to mention that the Vandenburg launches at dusk are quite obvious, and involve rather vivid contrails heading up into the night sky, not streaking bolides. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireball-in-socal-sky-1-18/481919/5 "2009-01-19T03:44:22Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Since Vandenberg is considerably west from Apple Valley, this is highly unlikely. Not to mention that the Vandenburg launches at dusk are quite obvious, and involve rather vivid contrails heading up into the night sky, not streaking bolides. There are no other launch sites in California, though, unless they send classified stuff up from Edwards AFB… ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireball-in-socal-sky-1-18/481919/6 "2009-01-19T04:13:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > In southern California moving north to south, it’s possible that it was a launch of some sort from Vandenberg Air Force Base, rather than a natural meteor. No, he said it was over in a matter of seconds. We grew up in SoCal, and he would be familiar with the appearance of a Vandenberg launch. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireball-in-socal-sky-1-18/481919/7 "2009-01-19T04:20:56Z")
Moving to MPSIMS from GQ. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireball-in-socal-sky-1-18/481919/8 "2009-01-19T04:22:01Z")
I saw a contrail this evening over LA, and assumed it was a Vandenburg launch. It was after 5:30 however. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireball-in-socal-sky-1-18/481919/9 "2009-01-19T14:55:59Z")
[Here is what a Vandenberg launch leaves in the evening](http://lemonodor.com/archives/images/darpa-minotaur-vandenberg-launch.jpg). Damn things are visible for miles (I grew up nearly 200 miles away as the crow flies, and could see them). [Here is an actual launch video](http://www.youtube.com/swf/l.swf?swf=http%3A//s.ytimg.com/yt/swf/cps-vfl73532.swf&video_id=7tNFWkdCvFs&rel=1&eurl=http%3A//video.search.yahoo.com/video/play%3Fp%3Dvandenberg%2Blaunch%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dyfp-t-815%26fr2%3Dtab-img%26tnr%3D21%26&iurl=http%3A//i4.ytimg.com/vi/7tNFWkdCvFs/hqdefault.jpg&sk=5ebh2k54IFKUIXE7VlrN7LvinhHy4Wt4C&use_get_video_info=1&load_modules=1). So unless he meant that it was something he saw on the western horizon, and unless he missed the lingering vapor trail, he saw something else. Of course, he might simply have mis-described what he saw and in which case, it could have been a Vandenberg AFB launch. ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireball-in-socal-sky-1-18/481919/10 "2009-01-19T15:50:30Z")
I’ve seen things launched from there in Las Vegas. [http://www.amsat.org/amsat/archive/amsat-bb/200509/msg00438.html](http://www.amsat.org/amsat/archive/amsat-bb/200509/msg00438.html) ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireball-in-socal-sky-1-18/481919/11 "2009-01-19T15:57:04Z")
A friend says he saw a bright green meteor traveling from North to South in the Western sky, just after dark, yesterday - from the Phoenix area. This would coincide with your SoCal sighting. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireball-in-socal-sky-1-18/481919/12 "2009-01-19T16:34:04Z")
Cool! He said it was green also, among other colors. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireball-in-socal-sky-1-18/481919/13 "2009-01-19T16:51:39Z")
Superman’s capsule has landed! Though it might be off-course. California’s a ways away from Kansas. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireball-in-socal-sky-1-18/481919/14 "2009-01-19T17:35:05Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > There are no other launch sites in California, though, unless they send classified stuff up from Edwards AFB… Edwards AFB doesn’t have any launch facilities. They have a landing strip used to land the Shuttle Orbiter and a heck of a lot of motor test stands, but no SVLFs. Classified payloads are routinely launched from VAFB and CCAFS. A “secret” space launch is essentially impossible (or at least, very difficult from a fixed launch site) owing to satellite-based ballistic missile early warning systems that would alert Russia to an unscheduled launch as a potential threat. [Spacearchive.com](http://Spacearchive.com) doesn’t [list any launches](http://www.spacearchive.info/vafbsked.htm) this year until 04 Feb out of SLC-2 West, and a launch out of VAFB would be well west of Apple Valley in any case. A “bright green meteor[ite]”, eh? Maybe it was [these guys](http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/S/SFafter1940.html). Stranger