Bright light in the sky over L.A. had surprising explanation

Sunday, November 8, 2015, 9:04 AM - Conspiracy theorists, rejoice: That bright light in the sky above California Saturday night actually WAS due to the government. It just wasn't for a sinister purpose.

Rather than streaking across the skies over an isolated countryside, the mysterious light Saturday was spotted over Los Angeles, causing social media to flood with shots of the strange phenomenon.

It definitely didn't behave like your standard fireball, a meteor burning up as it enters the atmosphere, nor did it have the characteristics of a comet. It looked like a giant, flying floodlight, bright enough to be seen as far away as Nevada and Arizona.

Luckily, people didn't have to wait long. The Orange County Sheriff's Department said on Twitter it was the U.S. Navy test firing a missile.

The San Diego Union-Tribune quotes navy sources as saying the launch involved a Trident II (D5) missile. It was fired from a ballistic missile submarine from the navy's Pacific Test Range off the California coast.

The missile was not armed, so the public wasn't in any danger, but their alarm would have been heightened due to the fact the navy doesn't typically announce missile test dates.

"Each test activity provides valuable information about our systems, thus contributing to assurance in our capabilities," Cmdr. Ryan Perry, a spokesman for the navy, said in a statement.

SOURCES: San Diego Union-Tribune