Mystery Beam

I have been trying to figure out what that beam of light was that suddenly appeared in the sky on 5/16/25, but there still isn't a definitive answer that I have been able to find.

I received the aurora alert and raced out to capture the Lights, which I was fortunate enough to do, but the mystery beam of light has quickly stolen the show.

I have seen:

-S.T.E.V.E. (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement), which doesn't sound like the same phenomenon because 1) S.T.E.V.E. usually appears as a purple and green ribbon, and this was only white, and 2) S.T.E.V.E. appears parallel to the aurora line.

-Chinese rocket launch, which I find hard to believe because 1) it appeared very suddenly, and all at once 2) it was bright, like its own light 3) both ends were tapered (see the second pic) and 4) unlikely this would appear over US skies like this all of a sudden unless launched in the US.

I am really curious to see what science reveals about this!

Just boring ole’ aurora borealis before the beam near the east trailhead of the Castle Trail

The beam seconds after it appeared suddenly. Note the tapered ends and brightness.

The beam moved across the sky in the same direction as the stars, but faster than the stars. It seemed independent of the Lights.