Mysterious, abnormally bright lights in the sky were seen streaking over Canby Thursday evening, leading many to ponder the possibility of strange visitors from another world. The truth is out there, people. *Cue X-Files theme.*
… Actually, the truth is that the sparklies were not meteors or planes but debris (also known as “space junk”) from a SpaceX rocket — the aerospace manufacturer founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
The company’s goal is to reduce the cost of space travel enough to enable humans to reach the stars and colonize other planets — but right now, it’s mostly just known for its rockets blowing up in spectacular ways, as was seen this week.
NWS Portland on Twitter: “We have been getting a number of calls about this! This looks like what we have seen in all of your videos. Not official, but this fits the bill. https://t.co/UX3SMtYwP0 / Twitter”
We have been getting a number of calls about this! This looks like what we have seen in all of your videos. Not official, but this fits the bill. https://t.co/UX3SMtYwP0
Hey — no one ever said space flight was easy.
Before the cause was known, the light show caused considerable excitement across the Pacific Northwest, where it was seen in the skies over Portland, Seattle and other cities.
The Canby Current on Twitter: “Video from a Canby-area resident of last night’s anomaly. The truth is out there. *X-Files theme* pic.twitter.com/RHHHLsnot6 / Twitter”
Video from a Canby-area resident of last night’s anomaly. The truth is out there. *X-Files theme* pic.twitter.com/RHHHLsnot6
“We have been getting a number of calls about this!” the National Weather Service in Portland tweeted late Thursday.
“I just saw that too,” said a local resident on the Facebook group Canby Now. “My husband thought I was crazy. No idea what it was.”
Most thought it was nothing to worry about: just a meteor shower, or “the North Koreans again.” Other suggestions were more fanciful, like the dragon from The Neverending Story (R.I.P., Falkor.)
Chris O’Connor on Twitter: “pic.twitter.com/7co9LrIamY / Twitter”
pic.twitter.com/7co9LrIamY
“Interdimensional demons trying to survey this town to harvest children and people with innocent minds,” said another commenter, who might not have been using Measure 109 the way voters intended.
The true explanation was confirmed by astronomers such as Jonathan McDowell at the Center for Astrophysics, who tweeted, “The Falcon 9 second stage from the March 4 Starlink launch failed to make a deorbit burn and is now reentering after 22 days in orbit.”
So, for those hoping for signs of life beyond the stars, the good news is that there was indeed something weird and strange and beyond all human comprehension behind Thursday night’s celestial pyrotechnics.
The bad news is it was just Elon Musk.
Stay safe, true believers.