Look, Up In the Sky, a Totally Explainable Thing

I couldn't focus on signs and symbols without looking up at weird lights in the sky.  Here is a shot from just after sunset on Sep 14, 2023.  Escondido, CA.  Whenever one of these appear, people walk around all riled up, or talking in hushed voices like the aliens are going to leap out of the bushes and get them.

This is what a rocket launch from Vandenburg AFB looks like from here.  You should know what a rocket launch looks like in this day and age.  Glowing noodles in the sky ... it's a launch.  There are a lot of missions every year, most of them launching more annoying communication satellites to give you a clear cell phone signal at the cost of wrecking the ability to photograph faint galaxies.

Anyway, right after sunset, the vapor trail hits unstable air at high altitude, high enough to still catch the last of the sunlight.  The reality is so much more interesting than all the made up fictions and bad guesses and conspiracy talk.  There are many websites where enthusiasts help track every launch.

Even government websites usually have sites explaining every mission.  Here's the official view from the ground.

Over on Reddit, r/space had a ton to say about it, that it was visible as far away as Phoenix.  The mission was for Space Force, the name means "conquer the night", and it was a test to see if they can scramble a payload into orbit in less than 60 hours.  All the rest is Classified.

Still, it's not a UFO, as in Unidentified object.  It's not a big secret what it was, except that whatever was was onboard IS totally secret.  The point is not to be so open-minded that your brain falls out.  Instead, be prepared for the unusual by knowing the best resources for each category of mystery.