UFO "Missiles"? Spotted Off the Coast of Newfoundland?!

[JaseSF]

Earlier last week, what looked like three large bullet shaped missiles were spotted in the sky off the coast of Newfoundland. Apparently the police confirmed reports of Unidenitified Flying Objects but explaining them was said to be something only the Department of Defense could do...an explanation that still hasn't been forthcoming as of yet.

These flying objects were shown on the local news here and I have to say they sure did seem to resemble missiles, each one having a long trail of sparks behind them. According to the reports, they were said to be going in 3 different directions.  There was some suspicion at the time they might have come from France or St. Pierre and Miquelon, the French islands off the coast of Newfoundland but that was quickly denied.

http://peoplemagazinedaily.com/?p=4500

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9jJRzcp-7U
	Small | Large

I wonder could one of the more mundane explanations given at these links here explain this.

Such as this:

Grant
January 31, 2010 at 4:55 pmEnd of Story.
This is a jet liner at cruising altitude with contrail self shadowing near the jet and illuminating with sunlight farther back. Nothing about these photos is unusual from the perspective of a jetliner. The eyewitness reports originally fueled the missile story due to the fact that they were very poor descriptions of what was seen. Listen again to them and you will notice that they use vague descriptions with little elaboration or context. More to the point, the witness suggests herself that they “looked like rockets/missiles” leaving this interpretation with the audience. It’s most highly likely, beyond doubt in fact, that they were simply describing three jetliners. Reporters should have the investigative skills to get precise language from their subjects. All this controversy is the result of a low vocabulary, bad reportage, and a dumb statement from the government. Mostly, bad reportage.
Picture of self shadowing:
http://contrailscience.com/images/2contrail_bg.jpg

[Jack]

Hard to say from the pictures if it could be an airliner with the sun hitting the contrail in just the right way, making it look like fire.  You would think you'd be able to see the contrail going back a long ways, but it doesn't appear that it does.  Unless the object is coming more toward us, and the remainder of the contrail is just not too visible.  It's certainly possible I guess.  It does look quite a bit like a missile though, no denying that. 

[Newt]

Trying to 'logic' it out here.
IF it was jets, I would expect several things:

First: that the witnesses would be fairly familiar with the phenomenon.  LOTS of jets pass through that airspace on a daily basis after all. Why were they 'fooled'?  Were the conditions 'rare'? Were they fooled - is somebody 'having us on' for a laugh? Is it a case of outside attention being brought to a locally well-known phenomenon?

Second: If the contrail is straight shouldn't the 'glow' taper off gradually along the length?  What I saw on the news looked rather abrupt: it had a well-defined 'end' to the 'flames'.  Would three separate examples appear the same?

Third: If there were supposed to be three jets, and the illumination came from reflected light of the setting sun, wouldn't they all have to be travelling at the same angle to the sun in order to reflect the light with the same intensity and appearance to the same observers at the same time?  How likely is all the above?

NOT that I find the 'missile' hypothesis the most likely: I would simply appreciate an improved explanation that tells me why it can look the way it does.

"I'd take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance any day." - Douglas Adams

[Jack]

I can imagine having just the right atmospheric conditions that the contrail would disappear a short distance behind a plane - the temperature cool enough to form condensation, yet warm enough that it dissipates almost immediately.  Couple that with the sun low enough in the sky that the light is refracted and you get red light shining on the contrail, but perhaps not creating the same effect on anything else because it's just over the horizon or something  

I dunno, it's fun to think about it though