No meteor, no comet: SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn launch spotted near Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Tuesday morning The SpaceX launch took place hundreds of miles away in Cape Canaveral, Florida, but it was visible all over the country, including the Philadelphia area.

Early-rising viewers and social media users reported seeing a streak of white light moving across the sky. While many speculated (and Googled) whether it was a comet or meteor entering the atmosphere, it was actually the launch that sent four civilians into space.

John Gajewski submitted a video showing the rocket over Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.

Our photographer Bill Seiders also captured the phenomenon over Philadelphia.

And Gary Kaplan sent us a video from Turnersville, New Jersey:

The Polaris Dawn mission launched a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into space at 5:23 a.m. Tuesday.

Among the four civilians on the rocket is Lehigh Valley tech company founder Jared Isaacman, whose Shift4 is based in Center Valley, Lehigh County.

Isaacman and his crewmates Sarah Gillis, Scott Poteet and Anna Menon plan to set a record for the highest altitude recorded since the Apollo missions, and will be the first to participate in the first spacewalk by a commercial spaceflight companyCBS News reports.