Mysterious streak of light appears over the U.S.

On the night of Friday, May 16, something extraordinary lit up the skies over the American Southwest. A brilliant, fast-moving streak of light that captivated onlookers from Arizona to Colorado.

Witnesses in towns such as Safford, Fountain Hills, and Payson, as well as regions of New Mexico and Colorado, were left asking the same question: What exactly did we just see?

Speculation spread rapidly. Some suggested a Chinese rocket launch earlier that day could be responsible, possibly placing satellites into orbit. Others floated more exotic theories: perhaps STEVE, a rare atmospheric light phenomenon similar to the aurora borealis, or even a “light pillar,” formed when light reflects off high-altitude ice crystals.

Attempts to reach officials at Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in southern Arizona, and Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque have so far yielded no response.

What if it wasn’t a rocket plume from a Chinese launch at all? What if something entirely different passed near our planet, like a comet or UFO, or perhaps it was a test of a space-based weapon or a directed-energy system?

Whatever it may have been, it remains a strange phenomenon, leaving many to wonder what truly streaked across the sky.