If you looked up around 5:27pm on Friday, you were in for a treat, Angelenos. And, if you’ve been obsessing over that New York Times U.F.O. story, your conspiracy theory gears probably started spinning.
But rest assured, that otherworldly streak above Southern California had a perfectly logical explanation: SpaceX launched its Falcon9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The Iridium-4 launch began a mission to deliver 10 satellites into orbit from the Hawthorne-based company’s reusable rocket.
Of course, if you had no idea the launch was set to occur on Friday, an ordinary rocket launch probably wasn’t your first thought, judging by social media.
Thanks #SpaceX for legit making me think Earth was being invaded for like 10 minutes tonight pic.twitter.com/wwMQcFDM4t
— Eli Braden (@EliBraden) December 23, 2017
#SpaceX next time give some damn warning! I was like Will Smith in Independence Day. pic.twitter.com/E7Kvt0YKKo
— Pierré (@PierreHoward) December 23, 2017
The view from O.C. 👽 #SpaceX #Theyrehere pic.twitter.com/uBOdachhQj
— Not the Mama (@NotTheMama2013) December 23, 2017
At Disneyland California and I'm pretty sure I just saw a UFO of some sort. pic.twitter.com/7jZS33Femf
— Jordan Burroughs (@alliseeisgold) December 23, 2017
And then there was the front page of the Los Angeles subreddit.
Really, we can’t blame people for the earthquake-like overreaction. Just look at this spectacular sight.
