This is an archived case, so I'm writing about what people reported rather than speaking to a single witness. On the night of September 6, 2013, many people along the East Coast, including New York City, saw a bright light rising out of the south. It matches NASA's LADEE probe launching on a Minotaur V rocket from Wallops Island, Virginia, at 11:27 PM. That launch was announced in advance, and the sighting came about two minutes after liftoff, about 345 km away. The rocket was climbing toward the south, and the timing and twilight fit the glowing exhaust plume and the rocket body being visible. The pick for a bright star like Fomalhaut scores lower, at 61, because it doesn't explain the rising motion and the orange color as well. The launch is the strong match here.
From the archive · #aymh6pqjsrfp
A light climbing in the south over New York City: the LADEE Moon launch
Rocket, not RoswellWant answers like this first in Google? Add WTH Was That? as a preferred source.
Sky Snapshot 11:29 PM, give or take 15 minutes
- Sky
- fully dark
- Moon
- new moon, below the horizon
- Planets up
- none bright
- Bright stars
- Vega (west 55°), Capella (northeast 15°), Altair (southwest 50°), Aldebaran (east 1°)
- Weather
- clear, wind 7 km/h
- Space weather
- quiet (Kp 1)
- Sunset
- 7:19 PM
Download the snapshot card to share it anywhere.
What people saw
- When
- Sep 6, 2013, 11:29 PM EDT
- Where
- New York, US
- Looking
- south, low in the sky
- Lasted
- 5 minutes
- Looked like
- one, orange/white, point, rising, with a trail
- Sound
- none
Late on September 6, 2013, people up and down the East Coast, including in New York City, saw a bright light climb out of the south and arc across the sky. It was NASA's LADEE probe heading for the Moon on a Minotaur V rocket from Wallops Island, Virginia, launched at 11:27 PM. NASA had announced it in advance, and crowds even watched the broadcast in Times Square, but plenty of people who hadn't heard about it wondered what they were looking at.
Sources:
https://www.space.com/22760-nasa-moon-probe-launch-nyc-photo.html
https://www.universetoday.com/104515/how-to-see-the-historic-ladee-nightime-moon-shot-on-sept-6/
From above the area, the way they looked, and what was overhead
The map needs JavaScript. The checks below list everything it shows.
The circle is the area the report came from, rounded to about 10 km. We never show a witness's exact spot.
See it in 3D on the Sky Globe, at the moment it was seen
What it could be
-
Rocket launch Likely100%
- +40Minotaur V | LADEE launched from Launch Area 0 B, Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA 345 km away, 2 minutes before your sighting.
- +15Timing and twilight are right for a glowing "jellyfish" exhaust plume.
- +10Close enough to see the rocket itself climbing.
- +15The pad is toward the S, where you were looking.
- +15A glowing cloud, cone or trail is the launch plume.
- +15Rising motion fits a launch.
- +5Plumes stay visible for minutes.
-
Bright star (twinkling) Possible61%
- +25Fomalhaut (magnitude 1.16) was 17° up in that direction.
- +10Low in the sky, where a bright star twinkles hardest.
- +8Twinkling is strongest near the horizon.
- +10Stays for a long time.
-
Sky lantern Doesn't fit48%
- +10Night sighting.
- +20Orange flickering glow is a sky lantern.
- +20Drifts slowly with the wind, often rising.
- +5Silent.
- +10Visible for a few minutes before burning out.
- -25A lantern is a glowing dot, not a streak with a trail.
-
Drone Doesn't fit40%
- +10Drones fly low.
- +10Flight times of a few minutes fit.
-
Satellite (ISS or another bright one) Doesn't fit33%
- ·Satellite passes couldn't be checked (orbit data was unavailable).
- +8The duration fits a pass.
-
Aircraft Doesn't fit30%
- +10The duration fits.
- -10No blinking and no sound is unusual for an aircraft, unless it was far away.
- ·Flight tracks weren't checked: aircraft are only looked up live, for reports filed within a few minutes.
What we checked
- Satellites: not checked (orbit data missing)
- Starlink trains: not checked
- Launches: Minotaur V | LADEE, 345 km away
- Aircraft: not checked (no flight history feed yet)
- Planets and Moon: no bright planets up, and the Moon was down
- Space weather: quiet (Kp 1)
- Weather: clear
- Meteor showers: none active
Launch page: LADEE, with every city that could see it.
How we worked this out
We took a snapshot of the sky from 15 minutes before to 15 minutes after Sep 7, 2013, 3:29 AM UTC at 40.71, -74.01, and scored 19 possible explanations. Each one starts from how common it is, then gains or loses points for every detail the witness gave and every record we found. The points are listed next to each reason above. "Likely" means 80% or more and "Possible" means 50 to 79%. Anything lower doesn't fit, and if nothing reaches 50%, the case stays unexplained.
Sources: launch schedule from Launch Library 2; planetary Kp from GFZ Potsdam; weather from Open-Meteo; Sun, Moon and planet positions worked out on our server with astronomy-engine. Engine 0.4.0, snapshot v2, worked out Oct 29, 2026, 4:52 PM UTC.
Not available for this report: satellite passes.
Discussion 0 replies
This reply only uses the sky checks above, so it can't claim more than the data shows. Was it helpful?
