Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Missile Spotted Over Queens
By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 11, 2010
Modified Nov 11, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 11, 2010
Modified Nov 11, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Get out your ALL CAPS-happy Comic Sans-font conspiracy theory keyboard, because it's time to figure out this missile thing. Earlier this week, a missile was spotted over California, and it's still a mystery (at least to us civilians) as to where it came from. Well, last night the mystery went bi-coastal, and around 5 p.m. a missile was spotted over Far Rockaway, Queens!
According to the NY Post, a passer-by saw what looked like the exhaust from a launched missile, and took the photograph here (on the right). He told the paper, "It looked like a rocket," and noted that the plume appeared to the west of the Rockaways, meaning it could have been over Brooklyn or New Jersey. He also said it did not resemble "the usual contrails left by planes" from nearby JFK Airport.
As for the California missile (pictured on the left), the Pentagon closed that case already saying it was just an optical illusion created by a plane. However, the cameraman who captured that one said, "It was unique. It was moving. It was growing in the sky." Somewhere, Mulder and Scully are looking in to all of this for us. In the meantime, if you need us, we'll be inside of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Tagged
california
missile
queens
sighting
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NYPD arrests 17-year-old in fatal Midtown subway platform shooting
Police say the teenager faces murder and weapons charges in Saturday’s shooting of 26-year-old Bronx resident Darrel Rodriguez.
By
Charles Lane
Published Oct 22, 2026 at 2:16 p.m. ET
NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal
Council Speaker Julie Menin called the $650 million plan "mission critical."
By
Elizabeth Kim
News
NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal
Council Speaker Julie Menin called the $650 million plan "mission critical."
By
Elizabeth Kim
Ex-Adams aide accused of pocketing kickbacks from community program funds
By
Samantha Max
MTA to begin 6-year project to upgrade signal tech on A and C lines in Brooklyn and Queens
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Former NYPD detective held on $1M bail after police say he shot driver on GWB
By
Brittany Kriegstein
and
Charles Lane
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .