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Mysterious streaks of light seen in the sky over California

This image from video provided by Jaime Hernandez shows streaks of light travelling across the sky over the Sacramento, Calif., area on Friday night, March 17, 2023. “Mainly, we were in shock, but amazed that we got to witness it,” Hernandez said. “None of us had ever seen anything like it.” (Jaime Hernandez via AP)
This image from video provided by Jaime Hernandez shows streaks of light travelling across the sky over the Sacramento, Calif., area on Friday night, March 17, 2023. “Mainly, we were in shock, but amazed that we got to witness it,” Hernandez said. “None of us had ever seen anything like it.” (Jaime Hernandez via AP)

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT / Associated Press 2 min read

Mysterious streaks of light were seen in the sky in the Sacramento area Friday night, shocking St. Patrick’s Day revelers who then posted videos on social media of the surprising sight.

Jaime Hernandez was at the King Cong Brewing Company in Sacramento for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration when some among the group noticed the lights. Hernandez quickly began filming. It was over in about 40 seconds, he said Saturday.

“Mainly, we were in shock, but amazed that we got to witness it,” Hernandez said in an email. “None of us had ever seen anything like it.”

The brewery owner posted Hernandez’s video to Instagram, asking if anyone could solve the mystery.

Jonathan McDowell says he can. McDowell is an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. McDowell said Saturday in an interview with The Associated Press that he’s 99.9% confident the streaks of light were from burning space debris.