Chinese rocket re-enters atmosphere near California

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - The phone lines at KTVU lit up just after 9:30 p.m. Wednesday with callers describing a bright light they had seen streaking through the sky. 

Calls of a suspected meteor initially came in from as far and wide as Dublin, Livermore, San Ramon, and many took to social media to document the light on video from San Jose and San Francisco and on the Peninsula. 

It was later noticed that many parts of the West Coast from Colorado to Nevada had been reporting seeing the streak of light. 

Some said it looked like a fireball and that it appeared to be headed north to south and others said it looked like it had split in two as it streaked. 

It turns out a Chinese rocket re-entered the atmosphere near California late around the same time many people shared video of the mysterious bright object streaking across the night sky.

U.S. Strategic Command spokeswoman Julie Ziegenhorn wouldn't say if the rocket ever posed danger to people on the ground. She says the command often sees re-entries.

Ziegenhorn tells The Associated Press the Chinese CZ-7 rocket re-entered the atmosphere around 11:36 p.m. Central time. That's about the same time social media lit up with reports from Nevada, Utah and California of a small fireball streaking across the sky.

Ziegenhorn referred all other questions about the rocket to Chinese authorities

Officials from Nellis Air Force Base in southern Nevada had earlier told KTNV-TV the light was a meteor breaking up.

See for yourself below: