I first heard that an unidentified flying object (UFO) was visible near southern California after seeing Tweets of alien jokes. Spotted on Nov. 7, images and videos of this UFO began to trend on social media due to its proximity to Los Angeles.

California coast. DID. ANYONE. ELSE. JUST. SEE. THAT. #ufo

— josh groban (@joshgroban) November 8, 2015

UFO Sighting In Long Beach California 1hr Ago ??? pic.twitter.com/gGzDGqtLSt

— Shane Floyd (@iHurricaneShane) November 8, 2015

The U.S. Navy later identified the object to be an unarmed Trident II missile under scheduled testing. The missile had been fired from the USS Kentucky, near the Southern California coast.

Trident II seemed unusual for a missile because of how the exhaust looked. In Solomita’s video, the missile seems to disappear into a cloud, and in other photos, the exhaust trail is bright blue. However, as strange as it seems, a bright trail left by missiles has been observed multiple times in past tests, verifying its identity.

My biggest concern with the event is the fact that the locals weren’t warned of the Trident II testing. Though the missile was unarmed, it was projected high enough that people moderately inland could clearly see it. The probability of a number of residents feeling unsafe was extremely high.  

There is speculation to why the U.S. Navy did not notify the South California residents. It could have been to prevent various nations from spying on the missile tests. Yet, the attention the event has drawn thus far seems large enough for other countries to get a general picture of the Trident II’s status. Perhaps they had purposely chosen to test the missile at night, expecting the large reaction. It could make the U.S.’s defense seem stronger to foreigners, after all.

Nevertheless, the missile is still considered an unidentified object to many people, meaning there are a lot of questions the Navy has yet to answer.