Mysterious light streaks across western sky, sending social media into frenzy

LOS ANGELES -- A mysterious light was spotted streaking across the sky in several western states on Wednesday, sending social media into a frenzy.

Varying explanations were given at first after the slow moving fireball exploded into several pieces.

But the official Twitter account of the National Weather Service out of Salt Lake City stated that the light was caused by "space junk."

Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said observations from Utah indicated it was part of a Chinese rocket reentering the atmosphere.

McDowell later said multiple agencies confirmed the light was caused by the Chang Zheng 7 rocket.

Reports indicated the light was seen in California, Nevada and Utah.