Strange Light Formation that Morphed in the Sky Tonight

WOW!
That sounds like it was a good one~

It was .. it just happened so fast that I couldn't study it for too long.

Some kind of atmospheric phenomenon.

Where are you located?

Central NJ shore about 4 miles inland from ocean.

no worries. it was only somebody traveling to a parallel universe.

There's another post here on GLP tonight about strange lights. I'll post it below:

Thread: Reports of Strange Cone of Light In Sky

HOLY SHIT! YOU' NOT KIDDING .. I JUST READ THE THREAD FROM TWITTER .. THERE WAS EVEN A SIGHTING ON THE NJ SHORE >>> I KNEW I WASN"T CRAZY .. EVERYONE DESCRIBED IT EXACTLY HOW I DID!!!

PIN! PIN! Here are some of the twitter posts

scotthook: light in sky
11 minutes ago from web SheilaMHawthorn: Spotted a strange light in the sky tonight. As soon as the whole Family saw it it went out as if someone pushed a switch. Very strange. ...
17 minutes ago from txt _BeckyStarz: Take me to infinity. Sparkle and shine, Baby light up the sky. Take me to infinity. I'll feel up your soul, in the dark if your shy.<3
25 minutes ago from txt IQXS: RT @shardayyy Just saw a cone of light inthe sky in Bowie MD about 7.50 PM, did i just see a UFO ~ KUDOS! A LOT OF REPORTS COMING IN!
28 minutes ago from web 2dawolf: just saw a ufo, at spy pond a light in the sky, cone shaped, disappearing into the sky without a trace, left a fog or something,UFO,i tell u
30 minutes ago from web sunburn09: I saw a light or something burning in the sky..and then it either blew up or disappeared at light speed...only white shining smoke was left
33 minutes ago from web shardayyy: Light in sky 7.50PM Maryland #lightinsky
34 minutes ago from web shardayyy: Just saw a cone of light inthe sky in Bowie MD about 7.50 PM, did i just see a UFO. Cone of light moving away from the direction of source.
40 minutes ago from web OhTASHx: okay , call me crazy....but on my way home i seen a circle thing in the sky that had light shining down. SPACE SHIP!
40 minutes ago from web sunburn09: Tonight I saw a light or something burning in the sky..and then it blew up. nothing was left...only white smoke...will the news cover it?
41 minutes ago from web flowerology: Just spotted cone of light in sky in a mist of clouds... Totally clear night on Jersey shore. wtf?
44 minutes ago from Echofon starwarsfans: We just saw an upside down cone shaped white light in the SE sky flashed for a few secs then dissipated - strange - anyone else see it?
about 1 hour ago from TweetDeck laxgirl45: Message me if u saw the light in the sky
about 1 hour ago from txt S1DC: I just witnessed some kind of cone of light in the night sky, it was far away and extremely bright. It lasted roughly 1.5 minutes.
about 1 hour ago from txt jarredstanley: Just saw a bright light in the sky like a flashlight then it was gone. #ufo ? Looked like it was heading South-West?
about 1 hour ago from TweetDeck ThoughtsLost: i just saw a bright "cone" of light in the sky emanating from a single source of light, it was like nothing i've seen.
about 1 hour ago from web mstuartperkins: Anybody just see that crazy light in the sky? Checking wallops launch schedule...
about 1 hour ago from Echofon 8thcross: I saw the strangest thing at 7:55pm....a cone of light sorta someone turned on a light bulb in the sky. No...NOT an airplane...
about 1 hour ago from Seesmic groverwatts: did anybody just see that white light thingee in the sky? i thought it was a comet but it went in reverse, tail disappearing last... WEIRD.
about 1 hour ago from Digsby njphotoforum: I saw the strangest thing at 7:55pm....a cone of light sorta someone turned on a light bulb in the sky. NOT an airplane...
about 1 hour ago from Seesmic

are all those posts on your sighting?

i could easily take a Hume's Razor to this..

They were all posted on Twitter...just click on this link and you will see them [link to twitter.com]

There were many twitter posts re. the exact same thing I saw .. I'm in NJ and there was a sighting at the exact same time in MD.

OHHH OHHH

for weirdness and because of a lot of people saw this.

Good catch, OP. Seems a lot of people saw it with you. I'm in Colorado, so it's not dark here yet, but I'll be watching the sky tonight.

No, those posts are from twitter .. from many other people who have seen the same thing .. I'm in NJ; I saw another sighting in MD

I say the same thing, and it was strange. I was going to take a picture of it, but was gone by the time I got to the camera out. for some reason now, it just feals colder then the night before.

I'm in York County, PA and we were at a Barn Party. We were just getting ready to set off floating lanterns when I looked up and saw the light in the south/southeast sky. It looked like a huge comet, with a very globular tail. There was a bright light at the bottom, surrounded by a glowing cloud. Then, the light at the bottom suddenly seemed to go up disappear, leaving only the cloud, which slowly dissolved. At least 20 of the 50 or so people saw it. It was the strangest thing I have ever seen. It was probably sometime around 8:00 PM, but I am not sure the exact time. We spotted it to the right of Venus (Is the bright object in the southeast sky Venus?)

Sounds like it was meteorite glancing the upper atmosphere.

Very rare. Wish I saw it.

i live in central nj too and last night i saw almost the exact same thing it was there for a few minuets and then was gone

You desribed the same thing I saw tonight around the same time in Tolland Connecticut. It only lasted a minute or 2. Just long enough for the people at our bonfire to look up in astonishment.

Any ideas on what it is????

Like a UFO you mean?
.

Yes, that is why I looked up at the sky in first place ... Venus caught my eye (or whatever that large bright planet is) .. and then .. I saw the light .. it was very large too .. very large.

I saw the same thing at 7:45pm. But I am in Massachusetts near the New Hamphire border. It was in the south sky. It looked like a flashlight pointing down from the sky with a smokey fog below it.The light moved from left to right as if someone was swinging the light from side to side before it faded.

I am in Toronto Canada and I saw it out over Lake Ontario. Exactly as everyone else has described.

Someone posted this on twitter .. thought this might explain the light sightings ...

[link to www.nasa.gov]

Night Time Artificial Cloud Study Using NASA Sounding Rocket
09/10/09

A rocket experiment that may shed light on the highest clouds in the Earth’s atmosphere was conducted from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on September 19, 2009. The experiment was launched on a NASA Black Brant XII Sounding Rocket.

Black Brant Sounding Rocket The Charged Aerosol Release Experiment (CARE) was conducted by the Naval Research Laboratory and the Department of Defense Space Test Program using a NASA four-stage Black Brant XII suborbital sounding rocket. Using ground based instruments and the STP/NRL STPSat-1 spacecraft, scientists will study an artificial noctilucent cloud formed by the exhaust particles of the rocket’s fourth stage at about 173 miles altitude.

Ground based cameras and radars were based at various observation stations along the Atlantic coast and in Bermuda. Because of the optical observations, the launch required clear skies not only at Wallops but also at the multiple observation stations.

The Spatial Heterodyne IMager for MEsospheric Radicals instrument on the STPSat-1 spacecraft will track the CARE dust cloud for days or even months. The SHIMMER instrument has previously viewed natural noctilucent clouds for the past two years. The CARE is the first space viewing of an artificial noctilucent cloud.

Data collected during the experiment will provide insight into the formation, evolution, and properties of noctilucent clouds, which are typically observed naturally at high latitudes. In addition to the understanding of noctilucent clouds, scientists will use the experiment to validate and develop simulation models that predict the distribution of dust particles from rocket motors in the upper atmosphere.

Natural noctilucent clouds, also known as polar mesospheric clouds, are found in the upper atmosphere as spectacular displays that are most easily seen just after sunset. The clouds are the highest clouds in Earth’s atmosphere, located in the mesosphere around 50 miles altitude.

They are normally too faint to be seen with the naked eye and are visible only when illuminated by sunlight from below the horizon while the Earth’s surface is in darkness.

A team from government agencies and universities, led by the Naval Research Laboratory, is conducting the experiment. In addition to the Naval Research Laboratory, participants include the DoD STP, NASA, University of Michigan, Air Force Research Laboratory, Clemson University, Stanford University, University of Colorado, Penn State University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Haystack Observatory.

Good description, except the brighter light didn't really move when we saw it. I can't believe this thing was seen as far South as Maryland, and as far North as Connecticut.

Would a meteor look like this if it grazed the upper atmosphere? What we saw really didn't move, like a regular meteor (shooting star) The glowing fog/cloud was surreal.