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Norwegians Mistake Missile for Alien Spacecraft

2:40 PM - December 10, 2009 - By Jane McEntegart - Source : Tom's Guide US

The Russian Ministry of Defense has confirmed that a strange light in the skies over arctic Norway was caused by a malfunctioning rocket.

At first many people assumed the spiraling light was a hoax. Some more fanciful folk thought it was a UFO an alien spacecraft. SpaceWeather.com yesterday reported that the spiral – observed and photographed by many – may well have been caused by a malfunctioning suborbital rocket.

"Evidence is mounting that the phenomenon was caused by a malfunctioning suborbital rocket, possibly a Bulava ICBM launched from a Russian submarine in the White Sea. A Navtex no-fly alert was issued for the White Sea on Dec. 9th, and photographers have recorded what appears to be the initial boost phase of a launch beneath the spiral (see inset). A rocket motor spinning out of control could indeed explain the spiral pattern."

The Russian Ministry of Defense has confirmed that this is indeed the case. According to the BBC, the missile was fired from the Dmitry Donskoi submarine in the White Sea and malfunctioned when the third stage engine failed.

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Updated at 17:23 GMT to replace "UFO" with alien spacecraft.

Comments

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ssalim 12/10/2009 6:01 PM
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It is UFO.
Unidentified Flying Object.
Unidentified = not yet recognized ... true
Flying = self explanatory ... true
Object = everything is an object ... true

rigaudio 12/10/2009 6:02 PM
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Pshaw. Obviously a ufo, guys. Come on.

ericthemad 12/10/2009 6:05 PM
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It wasn't mistaken for a UFO (Unidentified Flying Object), it was a UFO. And then it was identified.

Kelavarus 12/10/2009 6:06 PM
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ssalim :
It is UFO.Unidentified Flying Object.Unidentified = not yet recognized ... trueFlying = self explanatory ... trueObject = everything is an object ... true



Indeed. -Now- it's an IFO, but people seem to automatically assume 'UFO' means aliens.

bogcotton 12/10/2009 6:11 PM
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ssalim :
It is UFO.Unidentified Flying Object.Unidentified = not yet recognized ... trueFlying = self explanatory ... trueObject = everything is an object ... true



Beat me to it, but it isn't a UFO anymore.

Imagine seeing that though!

necro1783 12/10/2009 6:11 PM
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it was the TARDIS

Socnom 12/10/2009 6:13 PM
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Yes, how dumb the Norwegians are for looking up in the sky and NOT recognizing it was a malfunctioning Russian rocket.

Again with a bad news title. An accurate title would be, Norwegians Identify UFO. You cannot mistake something you do not know. Mistake implies having knowledge of but then misrepresenting that knowledge unintentionally.

Anonymous 12/10/2009 6:27 PM
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I saw a UFO yesterday. It was long, with broad wings that moved in vertical motions. I later identified it as a Canada Goose.

scryer_360 12/10/2009 6:29 PM
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@Socnom: firstly "mistake" can be used in multiple ways. If you do not know what something is and then make a guess as to what it is, which is what Norwegians did, then you are mistaken.

Its just common the way the word is commonly used in English speaking countries.

ProDigit80 12/10/2009 6:35 PM
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The day a UFO actually is captured in detail, and flying through matter, I think I might believe...
Why do UFO's only fly high, and are always recorded with lousy camera's?

Perhaps all this UFO business was nothing more than spy sattelites and mini planes. In some cases it's a recording of a scene behind a window.
Any source of light behind the window is reflected, and recorded as if there somewhere magically appears a dot of light in the sky!

NegativeX 12/10/2009 6:44 PM
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I'm more curious why Russia is firing/testing ICBM's from their subs.

jellico 12/10/2009 6:47 PM
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Norwegians seem to be getting confused a lot, of late. They also confused Barack Obama for a man of accomplishment.

jonpaul37 12/10/2009 6:53 PM
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ssalim 12/10/2009 7:03 PM
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cinergy 12/10/2009 7:12 PM
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lazerblaster 12/10/2009 7:14 PM
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Well, I'm glad its not aliens ...Just the silly Russians launching Long range missiles. had me scared there for a sec

gamerjames 12/10/2009 7:15 PM
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"but can it run Crysis" seriously needs a censor.

adribhel 12/10/2009 7:24 PM
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Norfag here:

Most norwegians did NOT assume this was an alien spacecraft (ofcourse some did,) most people believed it was a missile. At first the Russians couldn't comfirm what it was (almost saying they had no idea) leaving the retarded ones to belive it was alien's and even Santa Claus.

adribhel 12/10/2009 7:25 PM
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HalJordan 12/10/2009 7:30 PM
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A Canadian Goose can run Crysis...the real question is where do you connect your monitor. It ain't Display Port, I'll tell you that.

Renegade_Warrior 12/10/2009 7:34 PM
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Regardless of what it was, it's still a cool site to see. You'd think someone would have to use photoshop to get an effect such as that. :)

lumpy 12/10/2009 7:56 PM
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johnpaul37..LOL,right on.

jalek 12/10/2009 8:03 PM
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You'd think the Norwegians would be used to seeing Russian missiles flying over by now.

Anonymous 12/10/2009 8:06 PM
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No UFO. What is bothering me is the fact how quickly was this event explained in the media...
First of all, I am no weapons expert, but what kind of weaponry can create such an effect so high in the athmosphere (apparently it was one of the later-stage flight engines). This looks too spectacular.
Secondly, if someone else threw a missile like this into the air, the whole world would be in panic... but here it is used as a calming explanation...

Why do I have a feeling that this smells like a really lousy and rushed cover-up where noone is actually questioning the explanation that was used for the cover-up...

But then again, why are we discussing this on an IT-enthusiast website?

ProDigit80 12/10/2009 8:07 PM
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Russia is secretly testing nukes! :-o
Let's get the conspiracy theories running!

paperfox 12/10/2009 8:17 PM
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Whats interesting is how the rocket is giving off that spiral light effect.

JohnnyLucky 12/10/2009 8:28 PM
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GEEZ! You'd think the Russians were the only ones test firing missiles!

hispeed120 12/10/2009 8:36 PM
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That exhaust flame seems off. White, yes. Blue, me thinks not.

Cushgod 12/10/2009 8:57 PM
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It didnt malfuntion, we shot it down. Thats a laser shooting it.....

Computer_Lots 12/10/2009 9:00 PM
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Next headline...
Russians capture alien spacecraft after fake cover story about a malfunctioning rocket.

Russians attack the U.S. with their newfound alien technology.

gekko668 12/10/2009 9:07 PM
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@gamerjames

I agree with you wholeheartedly. I think "can it runs crysis" and "First, second" should be banned from TH.


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