What was that seen over Lexington County Christmas night?

The Christmas lights at 4322 Platt Springs Road were worth the stop. What promised to be a beautiful photo, all on its own, also became a mystery Christmas night.

What is that object captured, streaking across the sky above the light display?

Visible for about five minutes, it was moving north to south. “It was there, then gone,” said photographer Jay Sable, an employee of the owner of The State newspaper.

It may be the same thing reported at the same time at 10:18 p.m. in Aiken to the American Meteor Society’s fireball report page. The report hasn’t been verified so it is still in “pending status.”

Or maybe it was a piece of space junk, like this one caught on video burning up over Nevada three nights earlier, on Dec. 22. (Note this is raw video, with some raw but not obscene language spoken.)

Of course, you won’t be able to convince some folks out there that it was none other than Santa, done with all his deliveries, making a final pass before taking the long route back to his home base.

This story was originally published December 26, 2015 at 5:51 PM.