Daniel Roberts | Times Union, Albany, N.Y.

While many Upstate New York residents were looking skyward Tuesday night to catch a glimpse of the Perseids meteor shower, a mysterious light captured more attention and prompted a common question across social media: What is that thing?

The object, which appeared as a brighter pill-shaped center surrounded in mist, was the tail and plume of the Vulcan Centaur rocket launched at around 9 p.m. on Tuesday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

According to Space.com, the United Launch Alliance launched an experimental U.S. military satellite with the four-booster rocket to reach geosynchronous orbit over seven hours. According to the ULA, it was one of the longest launches ever for them, extending more than 22,000 miles above Earth.

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