Twitter lights up with UFO talk after light seen in Florida sky, turns out to be Navy missile

close

Video

Twitter lights up with UFO talk after light seen in Florida sky, turns out to be Navy missile

Navy fires trident-II SLBM missile test from a submarine off the coast of Florida

A strange light over the South Florida sky Tuesday evening had many residents bracing for extraterrestrial contact, but it turned out to be the Navy testing a missile. 

'ODD' LIGHTS IN NORTH CAROLINA SKY PROMPTS SEVERAL THEORIES

Floridians will be disappointed (or maybe relieved) to find out that it was just the Navy testing a Trident-II ballistic missile from a submarine. 

"This test was part of a scheduled, ongoing system evaluation test," a Navy spokesperson told Fox News. "Launches are conducted on a frequent, recurring basis to ensure the continued reliability of the system. Each test activity provides valuable information about our systems, thus contributing to assurance in our capabilities." 

The Navy doesn't announce missile testing beforehand because the info is classified. 

The Federation of American Scientists explains that the Trident-II "is a three-stage, solid propellant, inertially guided FBM with a range of more than 4,000 nautical miles."

It's not the first time that a rocket or missile test was mistaken for aliens.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Elon Musk poked fun at the misunderstanding a few years ago when a rocket launched by SpaceX was widely mistaken for a UFO or, as he put it, a "Nuclear alien UFO from North Korea."