No one knows what it is but now some "official" sources say it was only an aircraft. Pardon my ignorance, but if it were an aircraft, wouldn't they know who/what it was especially with all the flight traffic around LA? I've also just read in the LA Times it could've been an errant missle launch. Either way, this incident makes those in charge look incompetent or like terrible liars. And if you look at the CBS video it really does look like rocket.

Aircraft Don't Usually leave a Contrail going Almost Straight Up! It was a Rocket Engine that produced that Signature!

What. The. FFFFFFFFFFF

Well seeing an unannounced Trident Missile launch off the coast of LA would have certainly got me with the 'Oh sh*t' type of response.

Or perhaps it was Dr Who's TARDIS, according to the experts. Yes I am an expert.

Hoot Mon,I Believe Ya'!

Evidently it was a missile launch that was announced ahead of time in mariner alerts but failed to be noted ahead of time by the PR departments contacted by people who asked.

Or that is how it is being made to appear. LOL.

Nice writeup at:
http://scienceblogs.com/catdynamics/2010/11/missile_firing_off_la.php

It could have been a missile, I used to see quite a few of them when I lived down there.

Or, it could have been some some military jet pilot with a little too much testosterone goosing his aircraft.

OTOH, what's Blast been doing lately?

Sue

Dear China,

We may be broke, but we still have a lot of nasty missles.

Sincerely,

PBO

Dear USA, Perhaps it will be best for you to meet your obligations and pay your debts????? Or else!!!!

STRICTLY MY OPINION

My question is: where did the missile head? West trajectory - Probably one of ours; East trajectory - Probably not one of ours; Northern trajectory - 50/50 for being one of ours; Southern trajectory - Not likely to be one of ours.

STRICTLY MY OPINION

Disclaimer: I am NOT a Pacific Sailor and I am NOT familiar with Eastern Pacific Missile firing areas, AUTEC Ranges, etc.

I havn’t figured it out yet. Where I live in Olympia there are often contrails from military jets out of McCord and I think it’s very possible to see the same or similar from a contrail. Right now I'm leaning to it was a contrail from a jet.

Where did it come down??

CAL, every single one of those test missiles that I've seen were always headed west, so I'm assuming that if it was a missile, it's in the Pacific Ocean right now.

If it was a jet, the pilot is getting free beers from his peers and sour looks from his superiors.

Sue

Rebwa, me, too!

I had to giggle a bit at the part of the news article about it 'changing course'. If they're referring to that little jog in the contrail, that was caused by wind, not direction!

Sue

The missile was 35 miles off the coast of L.A. It had damn better NOT be another country's missile.

Lets hope the President of the USA has not received any calls recently from some North Koreans asking him whether he has ever seen the film Thunderball and whether he has heard of the Stuxnet Virus.

My money is a jet. This type of contrail has been seen before, and it was just normal aircraft with the right angle of light and flight relative to the observer.

Or someone made an emergency stop to get reaction mass for their star drive and was getting the heck off this rock before the local savages found them.

The more I think about it, the more I think its actually the reverse. China or Russia slipping through our defenses as a show of power? Did anyone notice that we lost tactical control of our ICBMs for a time last month? Coincidence?

Barry McGuire was right, if a little before his time.

Another one of life's mysteries . . we know but there are those who will never believe . .

I've read to much Vince Flynn and Brad Thor this year. That sucker was a missile.

Jet Aircraft Mix Oxygen with their fuel,Hence the The Large intake ducts/fairings on Jets of Today! Short of Cruise missles,of which are Too Slow to produce a Distinguished line,Arcing Upwards,It was Definitely a Solid-Fuel Rocket motor of some kind,The Contrail was Huge & Quite Visible,Something like a Trident Missle-SLBM,The residual contrail Floated over LA,& Was Quite Visible,Especially towards Sunset!LA Has seen it's Share of Ballistic launches,This was No Different,Other than It's course seemed to be headed North West!

A very nice explanation of the most likely cause and what people saw:
http://contrailscience.com/

All that said, as with so many so things, I lean toward the most probable explanation, but accept that a complete accounting is seldom available so we may never know for sure.

OK,Rocket Safety Inspector w/Masters in Aeronautical Engineering,State's the Contrary,To what I've seen!I've never seen a Contrail from an Aircraft,Leave a Residual Plume,As Long a Time,As this one did,& The reason why Aircraft Plumes don't last too long is the mixture of air intake with the Fuel!Rocket Engines Use solid Rocket fuel,& If Air is introduced,such as on an Intake port,The Rocket will Explode,hence my theory,of which wasn't explained,:Long Lasting Residual Plume!

A few problems with the aircraft contrail theory. For the effect as shown in the link

http://contrailscience.com/

the aeroplane has to be flying towards the observer. Now typically the aeroplane would have passed overhead and the mystery begin to unravel as it becomes more and more obvious that it a normal aircraft contrail. This would have occurred within less than 5 minutes as the aircraft passes overhead. This is why their is usually very little controversy is mistaking a missile launch contrail to a aircraft contrail.

This video and the description made by the observer indicates otherwise to a aeroplane moving towards the observer.

Also their appears to be the typical spiral effect in the contrail from a single propulsion engine. This would be typical of a SLBM with a single Solid Rocket Booster type engine. Combined with the light emitting from the contrail source (more than can be explained from sunlight reflection) then the answer is pretty obvious.

This is quite an easy one - its a ballistic missile launch.

The real mystery of course is why the US Government isn't admitting it. A Jack D Ripper moment possibly.

I still say Mitch Rapp was involved.