UFO or Russian missile? Middle Easterners panic over spiral light
From online dispatches
DHA video grab
A glowing spiral of light moving across the night sky caused panic across the Middle East yesterday.The moving light source that left a luminous trail of dust in its wake was seen in eastern Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel.
A footage of the bright object uploaded on YouTube sparked UFO speculation, while others considered it "a good omen for the Syrian opposition," daily Hürriyet reported.
Russia's RIA Novosti agency later reported that the country's Strategic Missile Forces had test-fired a Topol-class intercontinental ballistic missile from a ramp near the city of Astrakhan in southern Russia. The report added that the missile successfully hit its target.
Israeli Astronomical Association Chairman Dr. Yigal Pat-El, however, said the missile "most likely spun out of control and its remnants and the fuel was what people saw," Ynetnews.com reported.
The missile reached a height of 200-300 kilometers, Pat-El said. "That's why it was seen from so many locations."
