In the evening hours of Tuesday, a mysterious object caught the attention of residents in various regions of British Columbia’s north and Interior, as well as parts of Alberta and Vancouver Island. Descriptions of a large, white shape slowly traversing the horizon between approximately 10:15 and 10:30 p.m. PT were shared by multiple witnesses.
Videos capturing the peculiar phenomenon were posted on community Facebook groups spanning from Williams Lake to Prince George to Fort St. John, covering hundreds of kilometers. Reports of the sighting also came in from the Nass Valley, Kamloops, Oliver, Vancouver Island, and Sherwood Park, Alberta.
Sarah and Jared Siemens of Vanderhoof, B.C., recounted their skepticism about UFOs to their son shortly before witnessing the enigmatic object. The event prompted a change in their beliefs, with Sarah expressing, “It’s like, hey, you should believe,” while Jared described it as “really bizarre.”
Speculation about the nature of the sighting ranged from a weather balloon to extraterrestrial origins. Malhar Kendurkar, from the Prince George Astronomical Observatory, identified the object as likely being SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, launched from the Vandenberg Space Force Base earlier that evening. The rocket’s appearance was attributed to a unique visual effect caused by its exhaust booster expanding in the upper atmosphere, resembling a glowing cloud.
As sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena increase, experts like Michael Unger of the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre in Vancouver highlighted the growing activity in the night sky due to drones, private satellites, and rockets. He noted the rising trend of sharing such sightings, aiding scientists in monitoring celestial events.
The incident serves as a reminder of the intrigue surrounding celestial occurrences and the expanding presence of human-made objects in the night sky. The accessibility of recording and sharing such events offers valuable insights for researchers studying sky and space activities.