posted on May, 9 2010 @ 09:29 AM
If it was a large cloud, a likely explanation was that either a flight of aircraft were in the cloud, or even a rocket/missile was involved.
As for the aircraft, I have been in flight when aircraft, especially with afterburners engaged, have entered clouds ahead of me, and as they did so,
the cloud would literally light up like the lamp cover when the bulb is turned on inside the lamp. If you happed to be behind the aircraft,
particular in afterburner, the light coming out from the engines can have a flashlight-like effect. It wouldn't be quite like a searchlight, but it
can be fairly prominent.
Also, while working at Cape Canaveral, I have seen many times that during night launches, when a rocket or the space shuttle would enter a cloud
formation, the clouds would like up like daytime. You could literally read a newspaper from the light generated. Naturally, no missile or rocket
that large could have been used, but a smaller missile, or even a flare with a parachute, could have a similar effect.
Not having been there, I cannot guarantee that this was involved in what you saw, but I have seen these types of effects on a number of conditions.