Object Photographed In Sky Over Puget Sound

it looks nothing even close to a missile.

too much missing like smoke from fuel burning.

that there is pure light in the op

not really something i am aware of anyone having access too

the object is off center from the tail

again same color as sunlight and not much can reproduce light like that during the day

also the speed at which a missile would have to be is unrealistic to make that kinda trail without distorting the body

a reply to: howtonhawky

I see a white cylindrical object that gets narrower about 3/5 of the way up and then narrower again about 5/6 the way up the cylinder, with a single, horizontal black stripe about 1/2 way up the cylinder.

I dont know but that seems a heck of a lot like a missile to me.

a reply to: CreationBro

Yea it does seem like a missile.

No it does not seem like a missile.

why is the exhaust off center?

why is there so much light at the bottom of the pic

why is the exhaust gold in color

google missile pics and then notice how they all have much smoke yet this has no smoke at all

this is sunlight reflecting off a helicopter in the distance unless anyone can find a pic of a missile that looks close to this.

btw i have seen this color light before in pics in the day with cloud cover but never seen a missile like such

i really have no idea what it is other than going by past pics

a reply to: CreationBro

Which means it's not sub launched. It's an SM-3, which means surface ship, equipped with Aegis. It's used in the anti-air/ABM role.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: CreationBro

Which means it's not sub launched. It's an SM-3, which means surface ship, equipped with Aegis. It's used in the anti-air/ABM role.

you ever seen one look like that?

can you point me to a pic somewhere of something like this

a reply to: howtonhawky

Personally, no. Never dealt with missile launches. That's why I said earlier if it's real. Jim might have though.

I found something similar and it is a time lapse still photo.

So now the camera operator has not released the video footage from the camera.

This pic in the op is either time lapse or it has been doctored.

Simply put a trail of light does not last that long.

it's a long picture

a reply to: howtonhawky

Quite a few weather cameras are time lapse, to show the weather changes.

The SM-3 maintains its stability and steers by moving its exhaust nozzle. That is why the exhaust trail is not centered. I would hazard a guess that the ship that fired it was either Canadian, Japanese or South Korean. It wasn't a US vessel unless we have changed our VLS system. A US ship uses the missile's exhaust to blow the missile clear of its silo. The others use an ejection system so that the missile's engine ignights clear of the silo. That would explain the lack of "smoke". A lot of that "smoke" is steam from the water used to cool the launch system.

a reply to: JIMC5499

My money would be on Japanese personally. I don't think South Korea has taken delivery of the -3 yet, and Japan has been upgrading several of their ships over the last couple years IIRC.

If a missile launch, would this put in US territorial waters.

i agree with that plus the settings on the camera being set to cause the streamer effect

i say pic of a missile that the frame rate or some setting was altered or this is a time lapse photo

i say we are looking at a couple seconds of travel time in that pic

a reply to: roadgravel

Which makes sense with it being an SM-3, which is a US missile.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: roadgravel

Which makes sense with it being an SM-3, which is a US missile.

Yes it would. Unless it was a Canadian land launch, what would a foreign power be doing launching that near the US mainland. I would think that would be a bit of a serious issue.

a reply to: roadgravel

A real puzzler, there's a Facebook discussion I'm involved in, I'll report back. Carry on!

a reply to: roadgravel

Not really. They're getting them from us, even if it's a land based system.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: roadgravel

Not really. They're getting them from us, even if it's a land based system.

I meant if it was not Canadian or US, it could be a issue.

a reply to: roadgravel

There's a range up there and we let our Allies use our ranges sometimes and sometimes we use theirs. I saw a Trident launch off Florida once and it was a UK sub that launched it. My guess is that this was a set launch and they didn't want any publicity because of the summit in Singapore.

a reply to: roadgravel

Japan uses our ranges all the time in Hawaii. Several Aegis BMD tests have been theirs, using the Barking Sands range on Kauai.

The post implied it was over the island. Wouldn't a range be out in the Pacific? I suppose the specifics are a bit short at this time.

Maybe over the island just meant the line of view but it seems like it wasn't a very far distance from the camera equipment unless it was a very long lens system. And that might imply the launch being know in advance. I guess sheer luck of being in the right place could also be possible.