Watch This Time-lapse Video of a Missile Launch

Southern California’s skies were enlivened by a streaking ray of light on Saturday night, as frothy, squealing speculation pinged around the internet speculating as to whether or not UFOs were making first contact with Earth.

Martians weren’t infiltrating our skies of course. It was just the Navy: The armed service was conducting missile tests off the coast of San Diego.

Although something of an extraterrestrial letdown, the vibrant display of what was actually a Trident II (D5) missile launch still looked extravagant.

This slowed-down video, filmed from just beyond the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco should give you the chills:

You’ll notice that rocket launches, like this one, typically happen in a blip, so the time-lapse style of this upload is a welcome resource, especially for those of us who only saw bits and pieces of the launch online.

The Navy Strategic Systems Programs reportedly launched the missile off the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine, the Kentucky, as part of routine testing.

The Trident II (D5) missile was not armed, and the general climate of surprise that ensnared the internet after its launch was no surprise, given that the Navy never really publicly announces such activities.