A stunning blue spiral light, likely caused by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, illuminated the night sky over Europe on Monday, captivating viewers and sparking social media buzz.
A mesmerizing blue light, resembling a cosmic whirlpool, brightened the night skies over Europe on Monday. This spectacular phenomenon was captured in time-lapse video and is believed to have been created by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster as it descended back to Earth.
The event occurred around 4 p.m. EST, or 9 p.m. local time, with the glowing spiral being particularly visible from Croatia. In the footage, the light spins across the sky, prompting many social media users to compare it to a spiral galaxy. The full video, when played at normal speed, lasts approximately six minutes.
The U.K.’s Met Office reported receiving numerous accounts of an “illuminated swirl in the sky,” attributing the phenomenon to the SpaceX rocket that launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, earlier that day at around 1:50 p.m. EST. This launch was part of the government’s classified NROL-69 mission, with SpaceX delivering a payload on behalf of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the United States’ intelligence and surveillance agency.
“This is likely to be caused by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched earlier today,” the Met Office stated on social media platform X. “The rocket’s frozen exhaust plume appears to be spinning in the atmosphere and reflecting sunlight, causing it to appear as a spiral in the sky.”
The glowing light is often referred to as a “SpaceX spiral,” according to Space.com. These spirals occur when the upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket separates from its first-stage booster. As the upper stage continues its journey into space, the lower stage falls back to Earth, releasing any remaining fuel. This fuel freezes almost instantly at high altitudes, and sunlight reflects off it, resulting in the unusual glow observed in the sky.
Fox News Digital reached out to SpaceX for further comment but did not receive an immediate response.
This remarkable cosmic display followed closely on the heels of a successful SpaceX mission that saw a team working with NASA return two stranded astronauts from space.
According to Space.com, the phenomenon has become a familiar sight for those who closely monitor SpaceX launches and their aftermath.