When the skies in the US state of California lit up on Sunday, some people actually thought it was a UFO. Far from being an alien invasion, though, it was the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Stunning sights appeared in the sky when the rocket rose above the horizon before the first stage, or the main body of the rocket, separated from the second stage. They could be seen all the way from San Francisco and even in parts of Arizona. A time lapse video captured the launch over downtown Los Angeles.

The Falcon 9 rocket carried an Argentinian Earth-observation satellite into orbit.