Bright streaks of light seen across Southern California and beyond Wednesday night — leading many to speculate about their origin on social media — might actually have been space junk from a Chinese rocket launched last month, an expert said. 
 
 Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts tweeted that the fireball was debris from a Chinese rocket launched June 25. 
 
 McDowell told the Los Angeles Times that the rocket reentered over Utah about 9:40 p.m. and was likely traveling about 18,000 mph. 
 
 KTLA was getting calls and messages on social media from all over Los Angeles and elsewhere of the bright lights zooming in the sky. 
 
 The spectacle came a day before a meteor shower was expected to be seen across North America. The Delta Aquarids peak this week with the brightest streaks of light crossing our skies Thursday and Friday. 
 
 This meteor shower is best seen north of the equator, and should be visible to those in North America. Peak times to watch are late in the evening and during predawn hours, weather and cloud coverage permitting. 
 
 Officials at the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City and Nevada were also responding to people on Twitter who had seen the majestic lights Wednesday night. 
 
 A spokesman for U.S. Strategic Command told the Times the agency would not provide details of what might have actually happened until Thursday. 
 
 Observation reports from Utah indicate the second stage from the first Chang Zheng 7 rocket, launched Jun 25, reentered at 0440 UTC — Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589) July 28, 2016 
 
 Green & gold multi-piece meteor just flew south of Bridgeport and the Bodie Hills, California #easternsierra pic.twitter.com/r2mMqNOPLW — Jeff Sullivan Photo (@JeffSullPhoto) July 28, 2016 

 Published on Jul 27, 2016 
 
 My personal account and video footage of the July 27th, 2016 meteor-like fireball, from the reentry of Chinese CZ-7 R/B (41628U) (the rocket upper stage) as seen from Alabama Hills, California. Copyright 2016, Ian Norman. 

 LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Residents from Sacramento to Los Angeles and Las Vegas reported seeing mysterious lights streaking across the night sky. 
 
 The flashes of light spurred numerous calls into the CBS2/KCAL9 newsroom from residents in Lennox, Lancaster, Adelanto and Riverside. 
 
 The lights were also visible in other states, including Utah, and spurred a flood of reports and video on social media. 
 
 Witnesses said the ball of fire in the sky lasted about 30 seconds. 
 
 The National Weather Service told Weathercaster Jackie Johnson, who also witnessed the lights, that the incident was not weather-related. 
 
 Meanwhile, Vandenberg Air Force Base also told CBS Los Angeles they did not have a launch Wednesday night. 
 
 As of 11 p.m., there was no official word on what caused the mysterious lights, though the annual delta aquarids meteor showers were peaking. 
 
 Below are some of the videos that have surfaced online: 
 
 Huge asteroid shooting star thing entering atmosphere over Vegas. July 27th 2016 9:40 p.m. pic.twitter.com/djdR3Xu6En — Trevor Kerr (@AdmiralTrevMan) July 28, 2016 
 
 Saw a comet from my porch in @happeninginHLP -thought Bruce Willis was gonna stop it from destroying the planet pic.twitter.com/GIqPIsRCwE — yoon sul (@yoonicorn213) July 28, 2016 
 
 I'm no #ufo guy but this was the weirdest thing ever. Totally silent. like a plane with trailing fire streaks, gone! pic.twitter.com/DqupCP5oG6 — Justin Sweeney (@justindsweeney) July 28, 2016 
 
 I think I seen a UFO it went from orange to green pic.twitter.com/rhB05vMVUQ — lenaaaa (@helennnuuuhh_) July 28, 2016 
 
 So just witnessed this Comet / Meteor flying above Sacramento. Flew faster than a plane and slower than a star. #wtf pic.twitter.com/iJ7rKnLrH8 — ᴅᴀᴠʏᴅʟᴀʙᴇᴀsᴛ (@DavydLaBeast) July 28, 2016 
 
 Two something's just went slowly across the sky here pic.twitter.com/kAbK9XIdHh — Riffs & Synths (@KrisOfGravyAge) July 28, 2016 
 
 Just saw something burning fly across the Vegas sky.Phone didn't capture well but it was impressive. #meteor #comet pic.twitter.com/MXXvmVVtWO — Chris Alexander (@OnePositiveDude) July 28, 2016 
 
 What was this flying across the sky in American fork Utah pic.twitter.com/46QryLj6rJ — rhett storrs (@rstorrs15) July 28, 2016
– A fireball in the sky Wednesday night led to a firestorm online and over the phone lines, CBS Los Angeles reports, with California residents up and down the coast—as well as in Las Vegas and as far away as Utah—reporting the odd celestial phenomenon. The light flashes, captured on home videos that started popping up on social media, were said to have lasted about 30 seconds, and speculation ran the gamut from a meteor—the Delta Aquarid meteor showers are set to peak Thursday and Friday, per KTLA—to a UFO. The National Weather Service told CBS the strange sightings weren't linked to the weather, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, outside of Lompoc, Calif., said it hadn't had any launches Wednesday evening. But in the early hours Thursday, the NWS' Salt Lake City branch tweeted it was a "piece of 'space junk'" that had caused the temporary hubbub, and KTLA notes a tweet from a Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics astronomer suggests it was debris from a Chinese rocket that had launched last month. "Something's re-entering," a man exclaims as the bright lights streak across the sky in a video he uploaded to YouTube. (A dashcam captured a meteor over Maine in May.)