Mysterious Object Reported In NY Skies Tuesday Night: New Details

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NEW YORK — New York residents who looked up to the night skies late Tuesday might've seen something that sent them into an X-Files-esque spiral of curiosity: a bizarrely lit up shape, almost like a bright cloud, shimmering across the sky in unmistakeable UFO fashion.

And while it wasn't an alien craft or even an unidentified flying object, it was indeed a partially-classified government operation.

The strange light and shapes seen were the Vulcan USSF-106rocket, launched by United Launch Alliance in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on behalf of the U.S. Space Force. It was no routine rocket launch: it marked the first "national security"-related launch of materials by the powerful Vulcan rocket into orbit, officials said.

The specifics of the rocket's payload are classified and were not disclosed by Space Force, but they did say it included an experimental military navigation satellite along with other items, and that they were successfully put in orbit with the Earth.

The rocket was launched at 8:56 p.m. and reports of sightings came in from across much of the east and midwest shortly thereafter.

The appearance sparked a stir: "Rocket launch? During my search for meteor showers on the Island’s North Shore, this appeared, and it crossed the Long Island Sound. It lasted several minutes. When I noticed it, I believed it was a rocket that was launched from Florida, but I did not know for sure. I found out later that it was a rocket," said Don Manchester on Long Island.

The sighting was made even more brilliant for some by the timing of it, which coincided with some of the Perseid meteor showers. Here's a glance at what some local residents saw:

🍥The surreal spiral in the night sky from Quebec to Wisconsin? No, it's not a #UFO or #perseids - it’s likely the plume or upper stage from a Vulcan or or Ariane 6 rocket caught during the #perseidmeteorshower. pic.twitter.com/gX8ATJInlT— OrbitalToday.com (@SpaceBiz1) August 13, 2025

United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket over central PA at ~10:35 EST #rocket #launch #SpaceForce pic.twitter.com/w9N0te8Qpu— Craig (@clion24) August 13, 2025

Does a rocket ever look anything like this? Just watched this for 10 minutes cross our sky in central PA #VulcanRocket pic.twitter.com/tnplVKajCS— swampwoman (@salemswamp) August 13, 2025

“Vulcan is a catalyst to supporting national defense in the strategic warfighting domain of space,” Tory Bruno, United Launch Alliance's president and CEO said in a statement. “Vulcan is the world’s most capable, high energy orbit rocket meeting the demand for expanding space competencies. Vulcan provides flexibility to our nation’s decision makers as we combat our adversaries attempts to disrupt the U.S. in space operations. This launch begins a new era in national space security.”

The rocket traveled seven hours and covered some 22,000 miles to complete its mission, officials said.