# What was the mystery missile? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 9, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107 "2010-11-09T23:24:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/1 "2010-11-09T23:24:33Z")
A KCBS helicopter crew shot footage of an apparent missile launch Monday. [ > [@](#): > > Video posted on the CBS News website shows an object flying through the evening sky Monday that left a large contrail, or vapor trail. A news helicopter owned by KCBS, a CBS affiliate in Los Angeles, shot the video. > > Pentagon officials were stumped by the event. “Nobody within the Department of Defense that we’ve reached out to has been able to explain what this contrail is, where it came from,” Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said. ]([http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US\_PENTAGON\_MYSTERY\_MISSILE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-11-09-16-22-08](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_PENTAGON_MYSTERY_MISSILE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-11-09-16-22-08)) [ > [@](#): > > A Navy spokesperson told KFMB it wasn’t their missile. He said there was no Navy activity reported in the area Monday evening. > > On Friday night, Vandenberg Air Force Base, in California, launched a Delta II rocket, carrying an Italian satellite into orbit, but a sergeant at the base told KFMB there had been no launches since then. ]([http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/11/09/national/main7036716.shtml](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/11/09/national/main7036716.shtml)) Video at that second link. So far, no one, not even a branch of the US military, has taken responsibility for it or said what it was. Speculation is rampant on teh intarnetz. What do y’all think it was? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/2 "2010-11-09T23:30:38Z")
Contrail from a jet directly approaching the viewer. [this link](http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/11/09/mystery-solved-missile-launch-jet-contrail/) summarizes that supposition from [www.contrailscience.com](http://www.contrailscience.com) If the contrail is viewed from any other angle other than straight on, it looks like a “true” contrail. If it is viewed with the plane coming directly at the viewer, particularly in the setting sun, it can look like a missile going up, when it is in fact a horizontal contrail coming toward the viewer. This makes sense to me. Particularly when I read about people saying that they were amazed that anyone would shoot a missile off so close to LAX. I’m guessing that was exactly where the plane was headed. ETA - how hard would it be to figure out if there was a jet in that exact location at that time that would fit this explanation? ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/3 "2010-11-09T23:32:52Z")
Was there any radar tracking of this? If not I’d bet on contrail. Slee ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/4 "2010-11-09T23:39:26Z")
That looks awfully…robust…for a contrail. Planes fly over me all the time. I see contrails nearly daily and that contrail has more…mass for lack of a better word…than any I ever see. Not saying it is impossible and that my admittedly amateur observations are in any way authoritative but still looks different to me. Indeed it looks like the thick and more jagged contrail left by a rocket. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/5 "2010-11-10T00:36:29Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > That looks awfully…robust…for a contrail. Planes fly over me all the time. I see contrails nearly daily and that contrail has more…mass for lack of a better word…than any I ever see. Last saturday conditions were right in these parts for contrail growth. Rather than dissipating over 10 mins or so, they gradually got larger and thicker, until a set of them ended covering much of the sky in a heat retaining veil of cirrus. Sunset conditions also greatly affect their appearance. That shot at [Contrail Science](http://contrailscience.com/), is practically a [dark field image](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_field_microscopy). Of course it looks bigger and bushier than a pale white wisp against an afternoon’s standard whitish blue sky. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/6 "2010-11-10T00:41:59Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Contrail from a jet directly approaching the viewer. > > [this link](http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/11/09/mystery-solved-missile-launch-jet-contrail/) > > summarizes that supposition from [www.contrailscience.com](http://www.contrailscience.com) > > If the contrail is viewed from any other angle other than straight on, it looks like a “true” contrail. If it is viewed with the plane coming directly at the viewer, particularly in the setting sun, it can look like a missile going up, when it is in fact a horizontal contrail coming toward the viewer. > > This makes sense to me. Particularly when I read about people saying that they were amazed that anyone would shoot a missile off so close to LAX. I’m guessing that was exactly where the plane was headed. > > ETA - how hard would it be to figure out if there was a jet in that exact location at that time that would fit this explanation? Um — wouldn’t the military state outright that a jet contrail can look like a missile under certain circumstances, I’m sure this is not the first time this has come up. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/7 "2010-11-10T01:06:38Z")
Why am I hearing K saying “The flash of light you saw in the sky was not a UFO. Swamp gas from a weather balloon was trapped in a thermal pocket and reflected the light from Venus” as I read **Euphonious** post? If it was a jet, we should be able to pretty easily tell which jet, shouldn’t we? So why haven’t they figured that out yet? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/8 "2010-11-10T01:16:21Z")
I’ve been following the story all day, waiting for the “real” explanation. The contrail theory sounds the most likely to me. My co-worker was in a tizzy about it all afternoon. He was absolutely certain it was a missile. Of course, he is also absolutely certain that the Deepwater Horizon accident was a terrorist attack, so I felt it wise to wait for another opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/9 "2010-11-10T01:35:16Z")
Russian or Chinese sub missle launch. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/10 "2010-11-10T01:40:36Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Um — wouldn’t the military state outright that a jet contrail can look like a missile under certain circumstances, I’m sure this is not the first time this has come up. > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Why am I hearing K saying “The flash of light you saw in the sky was not a UFO. Swamp gas from a weather balloon was trapped in a thermal pocket and reflected the light from Venus” as I read **Euphonious** post? Damned if they do, damned if they don’t. If they say it was a contrail, they’re covering something up. If they don’t say it was a contrail they must be covering something up. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/11 "2010-11-10T01:48:50Z")
> [@Dissonance](#): > > Damned if they do, damned if they don’t. If they say it was a contrail, they’re covering something up. If they don’t say it was a contrail they must be covering something up. Not really. If they say it was a contrail from this jet, XXXXX, that was out over the ocean at the time doing blahblahblah, that’s an explanation. Just saying “it was some jet” isn’t giving an explanation. Who’s jet? Ours? From where? Who was the pilot? Where was he going? Why was he all alone? Did he make a turn? If someone could say “that was Americair Flight 8669 en route to Luxembourg”, then we’d have an explanation. But someone saying “it was a jet” isn’t an explanation. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/12 "2010-11-10T02:00:19Z")
If it’s an approaching contrail I question the visibility. LAX is generally going to have something like 10 miles of visibility (it was 10 miles when I pulled up the weather before posting this). This compares to an area like PHX which could easily have 100 to 150 miles of visibility. It does look like a sun reflecting off something toward the end of the video and not a rocket engine light source. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/13 "2010-11-10T02:11:57Z")
It is probably just the same old thing that 100’s of people saw when flight 800 blew up a few years ago. Except this time no plane blew up. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/14 "2010-11-10T03:18:26Z")
If it was a missile then what did it hit? What did it destroy? Where is the missile body or any of the evidence of a missile?? I’m going with the contrail theory. People often mistake what they are seeing in the sky…mistake the perspective, speed, direction, size and everything else. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/15 "2010-11-10T03:39:08Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > I’m going with the contrail theory. People often mistake what they are seeing in the sky…mistake the perspective, speed, direction, size and everything else. > > -XT Whatever, [that’s a missile.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWpSMgv5f5Y) ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/16 "2010-11-10T03:45:44Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Whatever, [that’s a missile.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWpSMgv5f5Y) What’s your evidence for that proposition? You can’t just say “the video,” because that video is also perfectly consistent with the contrail theory. ---
**Author:** ![Alienhand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@Alienhand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alienhand)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/17 "2010-11-10T03:48:11Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Not really. If they say it was a contrail from this jet, XXXXX, that was out over the ocean at the time doing blahblahblah, that’s an explanation. Just saying “it was some jet” isn’t giving an explanation. > > Who’s jet? Ours? From where? Who was the pilot? Where was he going? Why was he all alone? Did he make a turn? > > If someone could say “that was Americair Flight 8669 en route to Luxembourg”, then we’d have an explanation. > > But someone saying “it was a jet” isn’t an explanation. [QUOTE=Contrail Science] The most likely flight is US Airways flight 808 from Hawaii to Phoenix. [/QUOTE] I’m sure the military will be along soon with a similar explanation once they eliminate other possibilities and they are confident with their explanation. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/18 "2010-11-10T03:55:18Z")
Warnings of live missile firings were issued by the military for the area between Naval Air Station Pt. Mugu (near Ventura) and San Nicolas Island of the Channel Islands. > [@](#): > > Notice to Mariners, 45/2010 has a clear warning: > > 434/10(18). EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC. CALIFORNIA. MISSILES. 1. INTERMITTENT MISSILE FIRING OPERATIONS 0001Z TO 2359Z DAILY MONDAY THRU SUNDAY IN THE NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER SEA RANGE. THE MAJORITY OF MISSILE FIRINGS TAKE PLACE 1400Z TO 2359Z AND 0001Z TO 0200Z DAILY MONDAY THRU FRIDAY IN AREA BOUND BY 34-02N 119-04W, 33-52N 119-06W, 33-29N 118-37W, 33-20N 118-37W, 32-11N 120-16W, 31-54N 121-35W, 35-09N 123-39W, 35-29N 123-00W, 35-57N 121-32W, 34-04N 119-04W. 2. VESSELS MAY BE REQUESTED TO ALTER COURSE WITHIN THE ABOVE AREA DUE TO FIRING OPERATIONS AND ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT PLEAD CONTROL ON 5081.5 MHZ (5080 KHZ) OR 3238.5 KHZ (3237 KHZ) SECONDARY OR 156.8 MHZ (CH 16) OR 127.55 MHZ BEFORE ENTERING THE ABOVE BOUNDARIES AND MAINTAIN CONTINUOUS GUARD WHILE WITHIN THE RANGE. 3. VESSELS INBOUND AND OUTBOUND FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PORTS WILL CREATE THE LEAST INTERFERENCE TO FIRING OPERATIONS DURING THE SPECIFIC PERIODS, AS WELL AS ENHANCE THE VESSEL’S SAFETY WHEN PASSING THROUGH THE VICINITY OF THE SEA RANGE IF THEY WILL TRANSIT VIA THE SANTA BARBARA CHANNEL AND WITHIN NINE MILES OFFSHORE VICINITY OF POINT MUGU OR CROSS THE AREA SOUTHWEST OF SAN NICOLAS ISLAND BETWEEN SUNSET AND SUNRISE. 4. CANCEL NAVAREA XII 427/10. > warning is repeated in 46/2010, and they note missile firing activity off Kauai also. From [here](http://scienceblogs.com/catdynamics/2010/11/missile_firing_off_la.php?utm_source=networkbanner&utm_medium=link). So I’m gonna guess US & allied live-firing missile exercise, without specific timing so anti-missile forces would be surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/19 "2010-11-10T03:59:43Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > What’s your evidence for that proposition? You can’t just say “the video,” because that video is also perfectly consistent with the contrail theory. Perhaps a contrail of a plane bursting into flames, at around 0:19 you can see bright light in front of a darker contrast. ---
**Author:** ![ajb867](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f14d63/32.png) [@ajb867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ajb867)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/20 "2010-11-10T04:27:36Z")
> [@](#): > > Notice to Mariners, 45/2010 has a clear warning: > > 434/10(18). EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC. CALIFORNIA. MISSILES. 1. INTERMITTENT MISSILE FIRING OPERATIONS 0001Z TO 2359Z DAILY MONDAY THRU SUNDAY IN THE NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER SEA RANGE. THE MAJORITY OF MISSILE FIRINGS TAKE PLACE 1400Z TO 2359Z AND 0001Z TO 0200Z DAILY MONDAY THRU FRIDAY IN AREA BOUND BY 34-02N 119-04W, 33-52N 119-06W, 33-29N 118-37W, 33-20N 118-37W, 32-11N 120-16W, 31-54N 121-35W, 35-09N 123-39W, 35-29N 123-00W, 35-57N 121-32W, 34-04N 119-04W. 2. VESSELS MAY BE REQUESTED TO ALTER COURSE WITHIN THE ABOVE AREA DUE TO FIRING OPERATIONS AND ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT PLEAD CONTROL ON 5081.5 MHZ (5080 KHZ) OR 3238.5 KHZ (3237 KHZ) SECONDARY OR 156.8 MHZ (CH 16) OR 127.55 MHZ BEFORE ENTERING THE ABOVE BOUNDARIES AND MAINTAIN CONTINUOUS GUARD WHILE WITHIN THE RANGE. 3. VESSELS INBOUND AND OUTBOUND FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PORTS WILL CREATE THE LEAST INTERFERENCE TO FIRING OPERATIONS DURING THE SPECIFIC PERIODS, AS WELL AS ENHANCE THE VESSEL’S SAFETY WHEN PASSING THROUGH THE VICINITY OF THE SEA RANGE IF THEY WILL TRANSIT VIA THE SANTA BARBARA CHANNEL AND WITHIN NINE MILES OFFSHORE VICINITY OF POINT MUGU OR CROSS THE AREA SOUTHWEST OF SAN NICOLAS ISLAND BETWEEN SUNSET AND SUNRISE. 4. CANCEL NAVAREA XII 427/10. > warning is repeated in 46/2010, and they note missile firing activity off Kauai also. Jesus John, we weren’t supposed to launch THAT one… Go clean the fucking kitchen. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107.md?page=2)