2006-05-23 - Malibu, West, CA - Cylinder

bright metalic cylinder 30-75 ' or more flying along CA coast over Ventura, speed of landing jet, jet flame out the end.

a mirror like reflection of sun got my attention as it flew in from the S over the Pacific, it started to curve to the West then fly up the coast from me..I thought I would see wings but as it turned it was just a tubular fuselage. I grabbed binocs and that clinched it; no wings, and fire coming out the end: a missile.

There are missile tests all the time around here what with Edwards and Point Mugu base nearby, but they have always been way out over the ocean -- not this time. I called the police station, and they said no one else had called it in, and they had no info.

any one have any idea what it could have been?? it seemed much bigger than a telephone pole, through the binocs at the time it seemed like it could be 30 to 50 feet, but could be smaller in reality..or larger.

But it absolutely did have flame out the back..

The flight seemed to be guided..not a straight line, or a curve...

I guess it is the most plausible explanation that it was a recently launched missile, perfectly possible I could have seen it during it's first 15 seconds of flight, launched from a jet or ship..it was going rather slowly at first..then I lost sight of it almost as soon as I focused the binos on it -- it may have picked up speed and zoomed out of sight in a few seconds..