Twitter thinks aliens or a meteor was headed for Los Angeles. Here’s what actually happened

Mar 22, 2019

By Herb Scribner

Twitter thought for a brief moment that a meteor was headed for Los Angeles, or maybe aliens were coming for Earth.

But, alas, it was all just a stunt by Red Bull, the energy drink company. Several people posted on Twitter that they saw a meteor falling from the sky in Los Angeles.

What is this flying item on fire above downtown Los Angeles? pic.twitter.com/3tUu0jKL8L

— dennis hegstad (@dennishegstad) March 21, 2019

Did anyone else see that meteor over Downtown Los Angeles?? #crazy

— Ellis (@elliseckles) March 21, 2019

https://twitter.com/genericwill/status/1108584224666214401

The Los Angeles Police Department joined in on the fun, saying that the image was not from a meteor or from unidentified flying objects.

PSA: A meteor did not crash into Downtown Los Angeles, and no, it's not an alien invasion…just a film shoot. This is Tinseltown after all. pic.twitter.com/6QFY3uHbrt

— LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) March 21, 2019

What happened: Turns out, it was Red Bull. See, the energy drink maker said that Red Bull Air Force was celebrating the final supermoon of the year by having its skydivers jump from a helicopter above the city, USA Today reported.

“To add a touch of Hollywood glitz, the suits were fitted with LED lights and sparking pyrotechnics that lit up the night sky as the sun set and the supermoon rose,” said Red Bull.

See video of the jumpers below.

Oh nothing but 2x wingsuit base jumpers in Downtown LA being dropped by helicopter…(yawn). 😎

Cc: ⁦@alexsanger⁩ pic.twitter.com/UrRf3DvVQe

— YS (@NYinLA2121) March 21, 2019

Flashback: The final supermoon of the year happened on Wednesday. The moon coincided with the spring equinox, which marked the beginning of spring.

Interesting: NASA reported a meteor exploded in Earth’s atmosphere back in December. It was the second largest of its kind in the last 30 years.