Mysterious lights over Bay Area skies deemed a meteor, scientists say

OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - Mysterious streaks of light were spotted all over the Bay Area on Wednesday evening and Twitter erupted with curiosity.

But eventually, the San Jose-based research unit Lick Observatory deemed it a meteor, which first appeared after sunset, leaving a bright trail visible for many minutes in the western sky. And the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado quickly determined that the lights posed no security threat, thanks to satellites with infrared sensors, said Capt. Cameron Hillier.

But until the authorities, weighed in, many were wondering and speculating what was causing the strange looking lights that were first reported about  5:30 p.m. 

A KTVU cameraman witnessed the unknown image and said it was preceded by flame before it fizzled out into smoke.

A considerable amount of eyes were already on the sky anticipating the Delta IV rocket launch from Vandenberg, Calif. The launch was called off during the same time heavy reports of the unknown figure flooded social media feeds. 

Here's what Twitter had to say: