Residents of Armenia and Lebanon, and other countries in the region, also called their local police stations after seeing the light streaking across the heavens, Israeli media reported.

But the mystery appeared to have been solved within hours, when Russia announced it had test-fired a missile from the Astrakhan region.

Israeli Astronomical Association Chairman Dr. Yigal Pat-El told the Ynet news site that it was likely the UFO was a ballistic missile test.

"It most likely spun out of control and its remnants and the fuel was what people saw. It reached a height of 200-300 kilometers and that's why it was seen from so many locations," he said.

"We saw a large trail of light travelling from a distant spot in the sky," Ynet quoted one resident of northern Israel as saying.

"We could not see the source of the light. The trail was massive. It was an unusual sight. Moments later we saw swirling movement where the light was coming from."

In December 2009, a bluish spiralling light seen over Norway, and also thought to be a UFO, was later revealed to have been a failed Russia missile launch.Author: Jeff Abramowitz