A mysterious light seen over several countries in the Middle East on Thursday night has been confirmed by multiple sources as a Russian intercontinental ballistic missile test. There had been speculation that the strange sight, which was seen over countries in the region including Syria, Israel and Iran, might have been some sort of unidentified aircraft.
The object was first seen when journalist Rob Stevens posted an image to his Twitter account. Stevens wrote, "Just Seen a strange UFO over Fheis. It hovered, and then made a swirl and disappeared."
Ynet News reports that the missile test resulted in hundreds of calls to Israeli police stations. The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that the missile test originated in the Astrakhan region in central Russia and was spotted in several other countries along the way, including Armenia, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.
"It most likely spun out of control and its remnants and the fuel was what people saw," Israeli Astronomical Association Chairman Dr. Yigal Pat-El told Ynet News. "It reached a height of 200-300 kilometers and that's why it was seen from so many locations."
The Jerusalem Post Yaakov Lappin also confirmed the test, tweeting: "Mysterious light explained. Russia announces it carried out successful inter-continental ballistic missile test."
You can view several other videos of the missile sighting taken from Syria and one allegedly shot in Iran.
Video game players may appreciate the observation of one particular YouTube commenter, who said of the video Alan Wake: "IN SPACE!_ Great flashlight."