'Strange lights' came from rocket

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP/WWLP) - Many concerned western Massachusetts residents happened to catch a bright light in the sky over the weekend and emailed 22News to find out what it was.

Sunday morning NASA confirmed that they successfully launched a rocket in Virginia as part of an experiment.

The blast caused people to report seeing strange lights in the sky here in western Massachusetts and as far away as Boston, which is about 380 miles northeast of the launch site.

The space agency said it launched the Black Brant XII on Saturday evening to gather data on the highest clouds in the Earth's atmosphere.

About the time of the launch, dozens of people in the Northeast started calling local television stations to report seeing strange lights. Some of those calls came in to us here at 22News.

The rocket is designed to create an artificial cloud. NASA hopes the experiment will provide information on the formation and properties of noctilucent clouds, which occur at high altitudes.

If you witnessed the strange lights lets us know. You can send us an e-mail.