CHARLOTTE, N.C. — WCNC Charlotte viewers were confused by what they saw in the sky early Wednesday morning.
Viewers from across North Carolina and South Carolina shared photos of a mysterious object flying over the Carolinas. The object was seen over Charlotte, Fort Mill, Kershaw, Ocean Isle Beach and as far south as Florida.
WCNC Charlotte Chief Meteorologist Brad Panovich captured it on his roof camera early Wednesday as it streaked across the sky just before sunrise.
Panovich confirmed it was a SpaceX launch in Florida. Falcon 9 launched 20 Starlink satellites into orbit, including 13 with direct to cell capabilities, according to SpaceX. This was the 16th flight for the first stage booster supporting the mission.
The vapor trail from the rocket was seen for hundreds of miles along the East Coast. Panovich said the delayed launch had the perfect timing to be seen with the sunrise making the vapor trail much more visible than if it had launched earlier in the morning.
"The 2-hour delay in the launch window gave us the perfect timing 1 hour before sunrise," Panovich explained.
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