Missile test contrail visible for miles

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - What was it that was in the skies over New Mexico this morning?  .

Reports of a strange cloud formation came in from as far away as California and Salt Lake City, Utah.  The answer is the contrails from a missile test conducted by White Sands Missile Range.

The JUNO missile was launched out of Fort Wingate near Gallup early this morning. The missile was flying to the White Sands Missile Range about two hundred miles away when it was intercepted by the Patriot Advanced Capability missile or PAC-3 as it's known.

White Sands officials stress this was only a test and everything worked successfully.

It was not hard to miss the crazy formation in the sky. Although White Sands officials say the contrails have not always been as visible in past tests as Thursday's was. They also received reports it could be seen from Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada.

The operation was also coordinated with the Federal Aviation Administration to make sure airways were clear at the time of the test.

White Sands officials say this is the fourteenth time a large ballistic missile has been fired from Fort Wingate since 1998.

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