Mystery Missile Splits Sky

Residents of Los Angeles are still scratching their heads over the mysterious incident that took place November 9th with camcorders and even a CBS news camera rolling.  The contrail as it was described by many appears to be a missile, but others aren’t so sure.  Sparking fears almost immediately that an international incident was unfolding, some have suggested that the missile could be of military origin – although many military officials are saying they’re just as stumped.

The idea that someone somewhere may have launched a missile from within California and yet no one seems to know why is certainly not to be taken lightly.  But some are speculating that the images seen may not have been a missile at all, but rather a misidentified jet contrail.  If this is a contrail, why are so many people convinced otherwise?

But as the Pentagon declares its confidence that the mysterious object leaving a condensation trail is just a conventional aircraft making unusual maneuvers, many are convinced there is something more going on behind the scenes.  And the word ‘coverup’ is certainly getting its fair share of use.  But is this UFO an IFO?

If the contrail is simply from conventional aircraft, is it an Airliner?  Blogger Liem Bahneman of “Time to Think” suggests that the aircraft may have been either UPS flight 902 or America West flight 808.  But if the contrail is to be dismissed as the trail of a conventional aircraft, then what made people think it was a missile in the first place?  Wouldn’t it be fairly common knowledge if this aircraft’s schedule called for it to make a contrail such as this?

The answer appears to be in the form of an optical illusion.  When looking at the jet’s contrail head on or from behind directly, it appears to be shooting straight up into the air.  But when viewed from a slightly skewed angle, it can be seen clearly gradually climbing into the air.  A straight line moving across the sky can, in certain light conditions and with certain wind patterns, appear to be climbing at a 90 degree angle to the Earth even if it is simply moving forward.

You may recall the story we brought you of the mystery rocket buzzing airliners over Texas earlier this year.  The rocket whizzed past the same airline twice in a row over the course of two years on its anniversary, and some are wondering if it will make an appearance again next year.  While the case is very different, it just goes to show how mysterious our skies can be – even if the objects involved are of terrestrial origin.

Will we see more mystery rockets in the sky?  You can bet on it.  With rockets on peoples’ minds there is little doubt that numerous people will be spotting contrails and calling them rockets.  Expect to see several pictures in the days ahead.  And even so, this is only a margin of the myriad objects in the sky that simply cannot be identified.  One down, several hundred thousand sightings to go.