exhaust off the coast of southern california. norad issued a statement saying no missile launch has been detected and there was no threat to the u.s. if it wasn t a missile, what was it? martha raddatz has more on the strange story. reporter: it is a remarkable image captured by a local news helicopter just 35 miles west of los angeles. a huge streak arcing across the water north of catalina island. but from the moment the video hit the air waves, the military began scrambling for answers. i have to say i can t really be certain. here you see this little glint of light. that looks as though that s the exhaust from a rocket. reporter: this is tape from an actual ballistic missile launch, and there are similarities. but ulrich says that is not the only possibility. it also could be a jet aircraft contrail, from something you re looking at that s horizontal and it goes long almost to the horizon, it