Finger
New Member
I don't really watch TV news any more (save for PBS) so even though I live in San Diego county, I first heard about this on the Skeptic's Guide to the Universe. Here's a local news broadcast overblowing just about everything they can.
Frankly, this sounds like exactly the sort of bullshit News 8 would devote an entire evening to. They're part of the reason I stopped watching local news.
Anyway, the explanation for this "missile" is actually a pretty obvious one. It's a contrail. The reason it looks like it's rising from the horizon is because it's traveling in a relatively straight line toward California over the pacific (and over the horizon.) The setting sun illuminates the contrail and the curve of the atmosphere refracts the light making the dispersing portions of the trail look even bigger. Essentially it's a convergence of conditions that produces a rather pretty effect. I've seen it several times in my life. It's actually quite common. When I was a kid, I really thought it was a rocket ship (but then, I thought all contrails were rocket ships.)
Ironically John Coleman from KUSI, the climate change denial pundit, explained this effect and provided pictures of other similar instances. I suppose this earns Coleman and KUSI a few points in my book (but not too many.)
There was also a cruise ship that lost power in a fire off the coast of San Diego and it didn't take long for conspiracy theorists to start saying that the "missile" caused the power failure (like an EMP or something.) But of course, they neglect the fact that the ship lost power a full 29 hours before the "missile" was supposedly launched.
Frankly, this sounds like exactly the sort of bullshit News 8 would devote an entire evening to. They're part of the reason I stopped watching local news.
Anyway, the explanation for this "missile" is actually a pretty obvious one. It's a contrail. The reason it looks like it's rising from the horizon is because it's traveling in a relatively straight line toward California over the pacific (and over the horizon.) The setting sun illuminates the contrail and the curve of the atmosphere refracts the light making the dispersing portions of the trail look even bigger. Essentially it's a convergence of conditions that produces a rather pretty effect. I've seen it several times in my life. It's actually quite common. When I was a kid, I really thought it was a rocket ship (but then, I thought all contrails were rocket ships.)
Ironically John Coleman from KUSI, the climate change denial pundit, explained this effect and provided pictures of other similar instances. I suppose this earns Coleman and KUSI a few points in my book (but not too many.)
There was also a cruise ship that lost power in a fire off the coast of San Diego and it didn't take long for conspiracy theorists to start saying that the "missile" caused the power failure (like an EMP or something.) But of course, they neglect the fact that the ship lost power a full 29 hours before the "missile" was supposedly launched.