(09-12) 14:13 PDT OAKLAND -- There was a strange light in the sky early Friday, and enlightened folks were in the dark about it.

Social media lit up about 6 a.m. with several reports of a streak of light traveling across the heavens.

Bob Benjamin, a National Weather Service forecaster, said he had no idea what it could be.

"It's a rarity up here, but it could be the sun," Benjamin said brightly.

Turning serious, Benjamin said, "There's, as far as I know, no meteorological phenomena associated with that."

So for now, it's up to Twitterdom to speculate as to what that light was. A meteorite? A rocket launch? Contrails from a high-flying plane? Proof of extraterrestrial life?

"We don't have confirmation as to what it is just yet," said Autumn King, a spokeswoman for the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland.

"It may be space junk, it may be a meteor, but we have no confirmation yet," King said. "We're just kind of going off what we're getting from viewers and e-mail and video."

Whatever the object, the sighting is inalienable proof that heads will continue to crane skyward in hopes of another glimpse.