Are these the real deal (UFO Pictures)?

I was reading looking at the latest UFO reports on MUFON (MUFON "Last 20 UFO Reports") and I stumbled across a report that was submitted on 4/15/08. Apparently this person has had these three pictures for "some time" but decided to post them now. They look interesting to me and wanted to see what everyone here thinks. It appears these were taken in California.

Here are the pictures that were attached to the sighting report:






Here is the report that can be found here:

I was leaving my apt. in Cal, on the way to get some food. I was driving when I noticed a very irregular pattern of a light in the sky. Since it was night I knew that I the brightness of the light was irregular and slow moving. I slowed down to be a better glimpse of the LIghts. They were really slow moving and, by the pattern of smoke they were leaving, it was hard to dismiss the lights as a slow moving planes. The were really bright and the heads, and the trail left behind were like a zig zag pattern. I wasn't really afraid, but more amazed on how alluring the sight was.

I have held on to these pictures for quite some time, but figure that it would bother me if I can at least figure out what I was looking at.

Can anyone help me?

Well?

Rockets from near by air force base.

Look cool though!!

very interesting pictures.

It looks like it was a launch gone bad from a rocket or something.

reply to post by RUFFREADY


thats what i was thinking, but what base would it be.....

if it was a rocket, that would take care of the erratic movement and,the sun had just passed the horizon, thats why the sky is dark but the "tail" is still orange and white.

Vandenburg.

I'm guessing, but when I lived in Cali I saw this alot.

Maybe you can find a launch sched somewhere online.

My first thought was a rocket test of some sort.

Nice images though.

reply to post by Moserious


I don't think a UFO would leave a trail of smoke. It would not be consistent with other reports.

WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE , It was a picture-perfect pre-dawn Wednesday and a picture-perfect launch at White Sands Missile Range.

Hundreds of miles above southern New Mexico, it was a picture-perfect impact between two missiles.

The morning sky above the Tularosa Basin was painted in every color of the rainbow , hues ranging from iridescent purples to emerald greens and pastel blues, pinks and electric whites against the darkness of space.

The pre-dawn art show was the result of the third of five tests planned at White Sands Missile Range to determine the effectiveness of THAAD , Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile. And military officials said the test went better than they could have hoped.

SOURCE

Not an official explanation but a simple comparison for effect. I've noticed that the more "out of control" looking contrails from these tests are usually either "tracking" types of launches of "missile to missile" type of launches. Very erratic flight patterns involved with these two types of tests.

[edit on 16-4-2008 by Lost_Mind]

[edit on 16-4-2008 by Lost_Mind]

reply to post by Scramjet76


I agree, unless UFO's in California aren't passing state vehicle inspections thus the real reason behind so much smog

If the spiral is forming downward then something could possibly be 'falling' from the sky. Is that spiral of smoke/vapor above some of those trees or much farther away in the background then it appears over the ocean? I believe most of those rocket tests are done in CA over the ocean so broken off rocket parts can't be recovered by the public.

Cool pics, thank you for sharing

Bzzzzzzz

Bad rocket launch sounds logical to me. I had no idea what they were but maybe you're right. I've never seen one before.

I noticed the sign in the picture says Vickie Drive, and it also says "18,900". I did a quick search and it appears that this part of Vickie Drive is located in Cerritos, California. Cerritos is located NE of Long Beach and NW of Anaheim. This puts Cerritos about 15.5 miles SE of downtown Las Angeles as a crow flies. Cerritos is also about 18.5 miles from LAAFB as the corw flies.

After searching further it appears you all are indeed correct, check this out. I found an article about a rocket launch from Vandenburg AFB on September 22, 2005. Here (link to spaceflightnow.com) are the pictures from the article and the article itself (all provided in the link above):

Here are the pictures from within the article:

Rocket launch paints sky with breath-taking scene
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: September 23, 2005

A grand spectacle in the evening sky created by a spacebound rocket delighted stargazers and frightened the uninformed across hundreds of miles in the southwestern United States on Thursday.

The six-story Minotaur rocket soared off its launch pad at 7:24:29 p.m. PDT (10:24:29 p.m. EDT; 0224:29 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California carrying an experimental military spacecraft.

Billed before launch as a potentially stunning blastoff, the mission delivered with a fast-growing cloud of colors painted in the darkening sky. Residents throughout central and southern California were treated to ringside seats, but folks as far away as Utah, Nevada and Arizona witnessed the incredible sight. Television stations and local authorities reported being flooded with calls wondering what had happened.

The Minotaur's ascent to reach the desired orbit around Earth was timed perfectly to produce a spectacular "twilight phenomenon" that occurs when rockets or missiles are launched just before sunrise or shortly after sunset. Unburned fuel particles and water drops in the rocket's contrail freeze in the less dense upper atmosphere and get reflected by sunlight at high altitudes to generate such breath-taking scenes. The winds aloft twist the exhaust cloud, giving it a corkscrew effect.

Vandenberg Air Force Base, positioned along the Pacific coastline 140 miles northwest of Los Angeles, has hosted more than 1,700 launches since December 1958. But only a fraction of the flights have displayed such a spectacle.

The rarity prompted many space enthusiasts to plan ahead for Thursday's launch, scouting out prime viewing spots to observe the moment. It was the first such twilight launch in several years, and weather conditions didn't spoil the show.

The Orbital Sciences-managed Minotaur rocket uses decommissioned first and second stages from a Minuteman 2 ICBM missile and solid-propellant motors from the commercial Pegasus rocket program for its third and fourth stages. The vehicle is designed to provide the U.S. government with reliable access to space for small satellites.

The $20 million Minotaur deployed into a sun-synchronous orbit around the planet's poles the Space Test Program-R1 mission's Streak satellite. Built by General Dynamics C4 Systems/Spectrum Astro Space Systems in Gilbert, Arizona, the craft will be operated by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

"Streak is a technology demonstrator whose objective is to demonstrate rapid response, short mission life, low Earth orbit space technologies and gather information about the low Earth orbit environment," a DARPA spokesperson said.

Information released by DARPA indicates Streak is fitted with two instruments -- an ion gauge and an atomic oxygen sensor.

"The vehicle will characterize the orbital regime, demonstrate operational feasibility from a command and control standpoint and also from a platform perspective for future DoD missions," the spokesperson added.

DARPA is the Defense Department organization whose mission is "to maintain the technological superiority of the U.S. military and prevent technological surprise from harming our national security by sponsoring revolutionary, high-payoff research that bridges the gap between fundamental discoveries and their military use."

Streak's price tag is classified.

This was the fourth Minotaur launch. The Air Force says another is planned on December 18 from Vandenberg to loft a cluster of tiny satellites for a joint Taiwan-U.S. project, called COSMIC, to study the atmosphere.

That looks like the same thing to me. The guy who posted at MUFON said he has the pictures for awhile so this adds up clearly. Thanks ATS'ers.

reply to post by Lost_Mind


soo... using common sense, I see the street sign in the pic and read the OP. I punched in the street and state.. here's where it should be located using Google maps.. pretty simple ..

Vicki Street
or
Vickie St South

....these 'missiles' are over CIVILIZED communities!! and to be even MORE exact .. there within Fresno CA !!!

Answer me this:

1). WTH are missiles doing all the way out there!!!!

2) Where do these missiles land???? Do do they just explode them over innocent cites and let the hot shrapnel rain down on helpless victims below???

3). So, if some one can locate a base anywhere CLOSE to Fresno...plz.. feel free to post it.. however, usually..........they fire them OVER the water.. NOT populated areas...

Originally posted by Komodo
1). WTH are missiles doing all the way out there!!!!

You shoot them up high into the atmosphere at Vandenberg AFB and they can be seen from very far away as sunlight reflects off the toxic vapor. At least as far away as Los Angeles, so certainly Fresno.

2) Where do these missiles land???? Do do they just explode them over innocent cites and let the hot shrapnel rain down on helpless victims below???

Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific. Look out below!

3). So, if some one can locate a base anywhere CLOSE to Fresno...plz.. feel free to post it.. however, usually..........they fire them OVER the water.. NOT populated areas...

See #1 above.

[edit on 16-4-2008 by Nohup]

reply to post by Nohup



nice try but, you have no source to PROVE where they land; anyone can post a pic of an island and say.. "meh .. they land here.. meh"

NOR do you have any source of what exactly WHAT they are. they MAY look like a missle but you have no proof.. so ..

Originally posted by Komodo
reply to post by Nohup

 

nice try but, you have no source to PROVE where they land; anyone can post a pic of an island and say.. "meh .. they land here.. meh"

NOR do you have any source of what exactly WHAT they are. they MAY look like a missle but you have no proof.. so ..

.........so let's use common sense. I've seen these kinda contrails before in LA. It was always a missle launch out of Vandenburg. 911 in the LA basin get hundreds of phone calls from "witnesses" and it ALWAYS is explained by a "test" missle from the AFB up the coast.

reply to post by Nohup


Speaking of Kwajalein, they were supposed to be doing a launch today the 16th apparently. Anyone got word on that?

Edit: Wanted to add a little something:



Source:
en.wikipedia.org...eacekeeper-missile-testing.jpg#filelinks

[edit on 16-4-2008 by spec_ops_wannabe]

[edit on 16-4-2008 by spec_ops_wannabe]

Cool pics.....a few years ago I was working in Las Cruces NM and around 2am me and a buddy started out for the casino in Ruidoso. On our way through White Sands some idiot fired off something that damn near hit us on the road. At least it felt like it....Looked just like that...I had to play Blackjack sans undies.

I'm with Nohup on this one actually, and a number of others. This is most certainly a rocket launch, and not necessarily a failed one.

I remember seeing one of these last year out of Vandenburg AFP that had two stages. In fact, it might be the one in the OPs pics. After the first stage broke off, there was a tremendous burst and a 'wake' was clearly visible.

I saw this all the way in San Diego. For certain, this is a rocket launch, probably with a payload that was meant to reach orbit.

Very cool pics though!

I've never seen the one just posted with the beams of light. Is there some sourcing to go with that image that isn't wikipedia, just curious?

-WFA

Out of control rocket or whatever. A failed missle?


hey can we get a ATS Rocketeer Group together?


That would be cool.

Rocket, with a luminous trail mix.

ah, gotta love the 'deadly' lights.. Now does this planet's atmosphere take to the exhaust from such things? Someone said it was toxic... Now logically this is from solid fuel mix right? (like the space program??).. I have not a clue
thanks, cool pics definately