Suspected meteor over the Carolinas was a SpaceX rocket

July 3 (UPI) -- An object in the early morning sky over North and South Carolina was initially suspected to be a meteor, but was later identified as something more terrestrial in origin.

The object, which many witnesses compared to a large comet, was spotted over the Carolinas and parts of Georgia at about 5 a.m. Wednesday and was caught on camera by multiple witnesses.

Some witnesses suspected the object to be a meteor or a UFO, but it was later identified as a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

The rocket was launched at 4:55 a.m. from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and is carrying 20 Starlink satellites into low earth orbit.