A So Cal Girl in the Desert

Last night on our way back to Chandler from Maricopa, we saw the most amazing thing in the sky! Before I knew what it was, I described it as a huge spotlight shining in the sky toward a multi-colored spiral cloud. Weird, huh? We pulled the car over on the 347 along with a lot of other drivers. We thought maybe a fire, or something.

When I got home, I signed on to my trusted 85239.com forum, and someone had posted a link to the story on azcentral.com, which is where this photo is from. The first line of the article reads, "No, the War of the Worlds didn't start in the Valley Thursday night." It turns out that the lights we saw were actually a colorful exhaust plume left by a military research satellite launched from Vendenberg Air Force Base in California. The reason for the satellite launch is classified. People from Central and Southern California, as well as people from parts of Arizona reported seeing the launch. Amazing!