Strange lights spotted in sky above Salt Lake City - East Idaho News
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Strange lights spotted in sky above Salt Lake City

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SALT LAKE CITY — Fox 13 News received several calls and messages about a series of strange lights in the sky above Salt Lake City Saturday night, and it appears the lights were likely part of the pregame festivities for Utah’s game vs San Jose State at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Several videos shot just before 8 p.m. near Salt Lake City show the lights in the sky, with one video appearing to show a single point of light breaking up into smaller objects. Another video shows at least four separate lights moving slowly through the air.

According to University of Utah spokesperson Chris Nelson, a Navy parachute team dropped into Rice Eccles Stadium for the University of Utah football game around the time the lights were seen. He said it is very likely that those lights were a part of that demonstration.

Patrick Wiggins, NASA Ambassador to Utah, said based on the descriptions of the incident it may be a satellite that broke up in orbit. He said he received notice earlier that a satellite could be breaking up Saturday night.

However, after viewing several of the videos Wiggins said it appears it was probably not a satellite and was likely “something much closer to the ground like flares.”

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