Harbour Mille 'missile'
Residents of a Newfoundland village photographed a rocket-like object; officials first called it a missile, then denied that.
2010 CE · 47.60, -54.98 · status: unexplained
The account
After the 25 January 2010 reports, the RCMP's missile explanation was withdrawn and the Prime Minister's Office said it was not a missile. Suspicion of French activity from nearby Saint-Pierre and Miquelon was also denied, and an MP accused the government of a lack of transparency.
The sceptical view
An aircraft contrail lit by the low sun is a common source of 'missile' photos.
The researched reading
A dramatic picture of a ‘missile’ that most plausibly shows a sunset-lit airliner contrail. Confused official messaging made it seem more mysterious than it was.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Something known, misidentified | 40% | The photos were taken at dusk under one of the busiest transatlantic air routes; a contrail seen nearly head-on and lit orange by the setting sun looks like a rising missile, as with the 2010 California ‘missile’. |
| Undetermined | 30% | The share a generic explanation had beyond what has been shown for this case: it fits many cases like this one, but has not been demonstrated for this one. |
| Secret human technology | 8% | Speculation about a French M51 missile test was denied, and a military launcher professor doubted a missile; a secret launch remains a small possibility. |
| Genuinely anomalous | 8% | Officials’ contradictory statements left questions, but the image itself is ordinary. |
| Perception, memory or mind | 6% | Officials’ early talk of a ‘missile’ framed how everyone saw the pictures. |
| A hoax or fabrication | 4% | There is no sign the photographs were faked. |
| A known natural phenomenon | 3% | A sunset-lit cloud streak could add to the effect. |
| A poorly understood natural phenomenon | 1% | Nothing points to an unusual natural process. |
Official position: Canadian officials first spoke of a missile, then said none had been fired and that no threat existed.