A mysterious light with a twisting, smoking tail appeared in the early evening sky over the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday, but local astronomers had a scientific explanation. It was a meteor, according to the University of California's Lick Observatory near San Jose. "A bright meteor was visible in the skies over the Bay Area shortly after sunset this evening, leaving a bright trail that was visible for many minutes in the western sky," the observatory wrote on Facebook. Initial reports of the meteor sighting came in around 5:30 p.m., the Bay Area's FOX 2 reported. The National Weather Service office in the Bay Area said "we saw it here at the office."

Source: Fox News December 20, 2018 04:55 UTC