"Strange Lights" over Hawaii [Aegis Ashore SM-3 Missile Test]

[Mick West]

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/25572380/mysterious-lights-appear-in-sky-off-west-oahu

This one seems to be already been debunked, but it's an interesting example of people's inclination to suspect "aliens" immediately. When it was pretty apparent it was just a rocket trail at dusk.

The initial reports make it sound like there was a light that zigzagged across the sky, when it was simply the brightly lit (straight) trail that was slowly blown into a zigzag shape.

Hawaii News Now has received multiple reports of mysterious lights in the sky appearing to be off west Oahu around sunset on Tuesday.

Photographs sent into our newsroom show a bright zigzag light overhead. There have been multiple sightings from all across Oahu, Maui and Lanai.

It wasn't long before calls began pouring in as well.

"Super bright…this long line…then it went into this loopty-loop," said Carie Matthews, a North Shore resident.

"It was just a zigzag...almost looked like letting air out of a balloon," Bryan Cuelho from Waialua said.

...

"The first thing that came out of my mind was UFO," said Cuelho.

"Something definitely was up there, going off," he said.

"It was crazy. I've never seen anything like it," said Matthews.

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/...uai-details-on-kgmb-khnl-and-hawaiinewsnowcom

On Tuesday night, a U.S. Navy spokesperson told Hawaii News Now that he was unaware of any military operations that would have coincided with the light. Early Wednesday morning, however, the Department of Defense confirmed that a missile launch had taken place on Kauai just prior to the lights being spotted.

"During the test, a simulated ballistic missile target was acquired, tracked, and engaged by the Aegis Weapon System," the Department of Defense said. "Several fire control and engagement functions were exercised during the test."

The Department of Defense said that the primary purpose of the launch was to test the functionality of an Aegis Ashore ballistic missile defense system. Defense officials called the launch successful.

Funny thing was that Hawii News Now had reported the planned missile test a week earlier, and then seemingly forgotten about it.
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/25538466/hawaii-missile-launch-tests-shield-readiness

Hawaii missile launch tests shield readiness
Posted: May 16, 2014 12:03 PM PDT
Updated: May 16, 2014 12:04 PM PDT

HONOLULU (AP) - A missile launch next week from Kauai will test the readiness of a planned ballistic missile defense shield for Europe.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports the launch will take place from the Aegis Ashore site at the Pacific Missile Range Facility.

And even published a press release about the test today.
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/25573826/aegis-ashore-launches-standard-missile-3-for-first-time

PACIFIC MISSILE RANGE FACILITY, KAUAI, Hawaii, May 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Missile Defense Agency conducted the first flight test of the Raytheon-made (NYSE: RTN) Standard Missile-3 from the Aegis Ashore weapon system, which is designed to protect U.S. deployed and NATO forces in Europe from ballistic missile attack.

The non-intercept scenario tested the safe launch and fly-out of an SM-3 Block IB against a simulated target; an intercept flight test is scheduled for next year.

 

[Jason]

Just some clarification Mick, is the first photo you have up top a picture of the same event that was caught in the other photos. The first photo is a bit dramatic with the "zig zag" nature and full of color, while the other photos just show a white exhaust tail from the rocket test.

 

[Mick West]

All the photos are from the Hawaii News Now story, I just picked that one to show first, as it's the best photo. It's of the same event, just later. The sun has set a bit more, so it has spread out a lot more, and the lower part of the trail is now red

 

[Cairenn]

By the time it got to the page I mod, it had turned into an "inter-dimensional rift". The WOO was strong in that poster

 

[Pete Tar]

How did they rationalise that interpretation?

 

[cloudspotter]

By the time it got to the page I mod, it had turned into an "inter-dimensional rift". The WOO was strong in that poster

I've always wondered what an inter-dimensional rift looked like

 

[Hevach]

How did they rationalise that interpretation?

It kind of looks like the thing from Star Trek, maybe. Cultural perceptions and personal misconceptions of what a thing should look like are a big part of forming this kind of conspiracy theory, and glowing crack or ribbon shaped spacetime rifts are really common things in science fiction.