# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/61 "2010-11-11T14:43:47Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > So, now, what’s this? [Red Vapor Trail in NYC](http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/11/10/did-you-see-the-fire-in-the-nyc-sky/)? > > Experts say it’s a contrail, but it’s moving awfully fast… That’s no contrail. [It’s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemtrail_conspiracy_theory) a [Chemtrail!!!](http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message610501/pg1) :eek::eek::eek: 😉 ---
**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:** [November 11, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/62 "2010-11-11T16:51:30Z")
For the people who still think it was a missile: the news cameraman who took the video says he tracked the object for 10 minutes. To paraphrase Jon Stewart, what kind of fucking missile remains in visual range for _10 minutes_? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/63 "2010-11-11T17:10:42Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > For the people who still think it was a missile: the news cameraman who took the video says he tracked the object for 10 minutes. To paraphrase Jon Stewart, what kind of fucking missile remains in visual range for _10 minutes_? A slow one. Nobody expects a missile traveling at 60 MPH. It is brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/64 "2010-11-11T17:39:50Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > For the people who still think it was a missile: the news cameraman who took the video says he tracked the object for 10 minutes. To paraphrase Jon Stewart, what kind of fucking missile remains in visual range for _10 minutes_? You could just as easily ask what kind of jet plane stays in visual range for 10 minutes, unless it’s circling, which this one apparently wasn’t. I’m not saying it was a missile, just that the 10 minute remark, if the cameraman is estimating correctly, raises more questions than it answers. Maybe the cameraman didn’t actually track the _object_ all of that time but simply was able to see the contrail (or whatever) for that long. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/65 "2010-11-11T19:07:55Z")
I’m going to back away from the missile interpretation I posted earlier. After previous southern CA anti-missile tests, the government has released information about the launch. Now that it’s been several days and the government is still denying that it was a missile launch, and the factor of surprise and miscommunication should be reduced, I’m thinking I was wrong to guess that it was a missile. If the cameraman also saw the object (not the trail) for ten minutes, it seems unlikely that it was an ICBM or SLBM. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/66 "2010-11-11T19:16:53Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Maybe the cameraman didn’t actually track the _object_ all of that time but simply was able to see the contrail (or whatever) for that long. No, he stated he tracked it for 10 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/67 "2010-11-11T19:23:48Z")
> [@Raygun99](#): > > No, he stated he tracked it for 10 minutes. That’s what he _said_, but is it what he meant? He is, after all, a cameraman and not an aviation expert. I just think it’s strange. Am I wrong in thinking that a jet aircraft would also not be trackable for 10 minutes? ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/68 "2010-11-11T19:29:24Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > That’s what he _said_, but is it what he meant? He is, after all, a cameraman and not an aviation expert. He’s a helicopter pilot. He said he stayed in the air 10 minutes tracking the object. It doesn’t get less ambiguous than that. Also, a jet travels at between 500 and 600 mph at cruising altitude, which in 10 minutes is about 80 to 100 miles traveled. With an unobstructed skyline, that should easily be trackable. ---
**Author:** ![YamatoTwinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cc9497/32.png) [@YamatoTwinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YamatoTwinkie)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/69 "2010-11-11T20:03:06Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > You could just as easily ask what kind of jet plane stays in visual range for 10 minutes, unless it’s circling, which this one apparently wasn’t. A plane traveling at an altitude ~5 miles in the air can be seen from about 200 miles away (farther if the observer is also elevated). Assuming the jetliner travels at 500mph, it would take approximately **24 minutes** to go from the horizon to an overhead position. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/70 "2010-11-11T21:04:15Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > For the people who still think it was a missile: the news cameraman who took the video says he tracked the object for 10 minutes. To paraphrase Jon Stewart, what kind of fucking missile remains in visual range for _10 minutes_? I believe he also pointed out that according to one “picture”, it’s a giant space dick\*. One network traced over it, and the result was rather phallic. Which network was that? ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/71 "2010-11-11T21:19:53Z")
> [@Raygun99](#): > > He’s a helicopter pilot. He said he stayed in the air 10 minutes tracking the object. It doesn’t get less ambiguous than that. > > Also, a jet travels at between 500 and 600 mph at cruising altitude, which in 10 minutes is about 80 to 100 miles traveled. With an unobstructed skyline, that should easily be trackable. Okay, I stand corrected then. I didn’t realize he was a pilot. I assumed the cameraman and the pilot would be two different people. ---
**Author:** ![Shawn1767](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shawn1767](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shawn1767)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/72 "2010-11-11T22:18:19Z")
After I heard the original report, my first thought was “I wonder if the Mythbusters had anything to do with this?” ---
**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:** [November 12, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/73 "2010-11-12T01:51:20Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > One network traced over it, and the result was rather phallic. Which network was that? CNN. ---
**Author:** ![Nunavut\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e95f7d/32.png) [@Nunavut\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunavut_Boy)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/74 "2010-11-12T03:45:33Z")
Apparently it was [US Airways flight 808.](http://blog2.bahneman.com/content/it-was-us-airways-flight-808) ---
**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 12, 2010, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/75 "2010-11-12T04:21:48Z")
Sorry. A blog with no pictures is supposed to tell us what it was? :dubious: Even better, a blog by a guy who can’t figure out how to get his blog to display pictures is supposed to convince me with logic and reason and intelligent deduction? :dubious: It’s clear you’ve showered in the kool-aid with no clothes on while thirsty. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/76 "2010-11-12T04:52:20Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > CNN. Thanks. There’s probably a clip of it on Comedy Central – I’m not doing a picture search of “space dick”. Well, I WOULD, but I doubt I’d find what we’re looking for here. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Alienhand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@Alienhand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alienhand)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/77 "2010-11-12T05:33:30Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Sorry. A blog with no pictures is supposed to tell us what it was? :dubious: > > Even better, a blog by a guy who can’t figure out how to get his blog to display pictures is supposed to convince me with logic and reason and intelligent deduction? :dubious: > > It’s clear you’ve showered in the kool-aid with no clothes on while thirsty. 😛 Take the “2” out to get the working url that’s already been posted twice in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/78 "2010-11-12T08:07:23Z")
Skynet is starting to launch missiles by itself ---
**Author:** ![Sablicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Sablicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sablicious)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/79 "2010-11-13T16:00:02Z")
**STOP PRESS!!** This just in from NORAD: [image](http://i53.tinypic.com/2mfg4di.jpg) I think that should clear things up a little. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107/80 "2010-11-17T18:19:36Z")
Interesting article today that has a weather satellite capturing a picture of a contrail going from Hawaii to Arizona. [Link.](http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20101117/sc_space/infamouscontrailakathemysterymissilespottedinsatelliteimage) ["]Photo.]([Space.com: NASA, Space Exploration and Astronomy News](http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?pic=mystery-contrail-satellite-image-101116-02.jpg&cap=The+%27mystery%27+contrail+is+visible+as+a+horizontal+white+streak+in+the+middle+of+the+lower+left+quadrant+of+this+image%2C+captured+by+the+Geostationary+Operational+Environmental+Satellite+11.+The+satellite+is+a+partnership+between+NASA+Goddard+Space+Flight+Center+and+the+National+Oceanographic+and+Atmospheric+Administration+%28NOAA%29.+Credit%3A+NASA%2FNOAA+)[%3Ca+href%3Dhttp%3A%2F%[2Fwww.space.com](http://2Fwww.space.com)%2Fscienceastronomy%2Fmystery-contrail-satellite-image-101116.html%3EFull+Story%3C%2Fa%3E) My God – the cover up of this conspiracy extends all the way to SPACE!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-mystery-missile/560107.md?page=5)