Question

Can you tell me if there was any night sky activity by any agency that could provide a plausible explanation for a white, inverted cone shaped light emitting over Franklin WV about 8 - 9 pm on September 19th, 2009. It was clearly visible with the naked eye and slowly raised straight up out of sight. I have researched the date online without success. Thank You.

On September 19 there was a research rocket launch from Wallops Island (on the Eastern Shore of Chesapeake Bay) that released a luminous cloud into the upper atmosphere. This was widely reported in the press. For instance, Newsday wrote "Staff at several National Weather Service offices in the Northeast received calls of strange lights after NASA launched a rocket from Virginia, a meteorologist with the weather service in Upton said. And along the East Coast, reports of the bright, cone-shaped light poured into weather stations and news organizations, a Boston TV station said on its Web site." Associated Press wrote "The space agency said it launched the Black Brant XII on Saturday evening to gather data on the highest clouds in the Earth's atmosphere. About the time of the launch, dozens of people in the Northeast started calling local television stations to report seeing strange lights. The calls came from as far away as Boston, which is about 380 miles northeast of the launch site." From CNN "A series of spooky lights above parts of the northeastern United States Saturday sparked a flurry of phone calls to authorities and television news stations. NASA said strange lights seen in the Northeast on Saturday were caused by an experimental rocket. CNN affiliate stations from New Jersey to Massachusetts heard from dozens of callers who reported seeing it.”

David Morrison
NAI Senior Scientist
November 2, 2009