San Diegans Report Blue and Green Mystery ‘Streak' in Sky

Some residents reported seeing the mystery light in Carlsbad, Lakeside, Ramona and Coronado, just to name a few communities

Dozens of San Diegans reported seeing a mysterious bright blue and green streak across the sky Thursday morning, which may have been a meteor.

One San Diego resident told NBC 7 she spotted a blue and green flash in the sky just before 6 a.m., as she drove on Ted Williams Parkway near Interstate 15 near Carmel Mountain.

Another woman, who lives in Carlsbad, said she saw a blue light streak quickly across the sky.

Another San Diego resident, Rebecca Arvig, described a “bright blue-ish object that flew across the sky” just before 6:40 a.m.

“It only lasted a few seconds, but everyone going southbound could not have missed it,” Arvig told NBC 7. “It looked like someone was welding in the sky. It was very far away and moving at a very high speed.”

NBC 4 Los Angeles said Griffith Observatory directors said the “streak” may have been a bright meteor or space debris. Many residents in Los Angeles and across Southern California also reported the sighting, NBC 4 reported.

The possible meteor was also seen by commuters at Wildcat Canyon Road in Lakeside. Reported sightings also flooded in from Chula Vista, Poway, Ramona, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Santa Fe, Coronado and La Jolla, to name a few spots.

One person said her sighting lasted about eight seconds. Others said the streak was not accompanied by smoke, just a trail “that faded and disappeared behind it.”

“It turned white then burnt out,” described Sarah Palleson. “No smoke trail of any kind.”

“It was awesome,” Steve Smith, a member of a Ramona community forum, said on Facebook. “It looked like it came into the atmosphere then went back out to space.”

“Saw it leaving Ramona while I was approaching Mussey Grade. Absolutely incredible,” added Michael Christopher.

Carrie Jaquess said she saw the flash in the sky around 6:35 a.m. during her morning walk in Rancho Bernardo.

"It was way bigger and brighter than any comet I've seen at nighttime and this was in the daylight," she said.

Wendy Peterson was in Chula Vista, traveling southbound on Telegraph Canyon Road at around 6:35 a.m. when the bright streak caught her eye.

"It went right across from one side to the other but not to high in the sky," she explained. "And just disappeared."

Michael Degnan also said he witnessed the mystery streak, at around 6:40 a.m.

"It was burning and the colors seemed to go from blue to green to white, it lasted long maybe five seconds or so," Degnan recounted. "It looked so close that I was sure that debris was going to be found somewhere. Once it turned white it was gone; no sound, but extremely close."

NBC 7 reached out to the Palomar Observatory to see if their sky cameras captured footage of the reported streak.

Steve Flanders, public affairs coordinator at Palomar Observatory, said the facility's cameras are typically turned off in the early hours of the morning, as daytime meteor sightings are rare.

"It must've been very bright," Flanders said, referring to the descriptions from witnesses of the bright blue and green colors.
Flanders said it sounds like the streak could have been a meteor or other space debris.

“It could’ve very possibly been a meteor entering the atmosphere,” he said.

Flanders also said the flash could've also simply been some type of material left over from a satellite or other space tool humans put into orbit.

When those objects or tools are no longer in use, they can decay, Flanders said, and that debris can re-enter the atmosphere.

Did you see it? Tell us about your sighting in the comments section below.

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