Brits have been left starstruck tonight after a mysterious spinning white spiral was spotted in the sky, with experts saying it is linked to a SpaceX rocket.
Some posted the stunning images on social media, joking that they thought it could be ‘aliens‘.
But experts say the bizarre shape was caused by illuminated frozen fuel expelled from the rocket’s second stage.
The light blue spiral is formed when excess fuel that has been released from a rocket turns to ice, and then water vapour.
It then reflects the sunlight in the upper atmosphere.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket was launched for the NROL-69 mission today, and seems to be the cause.
The company focused on space exploration often launches rockets that can create visual effects when frozen fuel is expelled into the atmosphere.
One stunned Brit posted on X tonight: ‘Just seen this weird spiral of light in the sky while me and little lad look at stars with his telescope.
Brits have been left starstruck tonight after a mysterious spinning white spiral was spotted in the sky, with experts saying it is linked to the SpaceX rocket
Experts say the bizarre shape was caused by illuminated frozen fuel expelled from the rocket’s second stage
Brits from different counties posted stunning photos on X
‘Anyone have any idea what it is I read it could be a @SpaceX rocket but didn’t know they were visible in Yorkshire UK. There one minute gone the next!’
Another said: ‘Weird thing to see in the sky at night. What are we thinking? Bit of a rocket launch spinning off and outgassing or out…fuelling? Aliens?’
The swirl was spotted from Yorkshire, Hertfordshire, Bristol, Milton Keynes, Stoke-on-Trent, and Kent.
Professor Brian Cox said on X: ‘For everyone asking about the strange spiral shape in the sky earlier – it was associated with this launch’
He shared a video by SpaceX called: ‘Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on LZ-1 in Florida.’
UK Astronomy also posted saying: ‘Lots asking about this! It’s the 2nd stage deorbit burn from the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.’
This isn’t the first time such a phenomenon has been spotted.
In 2021, a similar sighting was linked to a rocket launching a satellite into orbit.
American astronomer Jonathan McDowell weighed in on the bizarre sighting, revealing it was fuel released by China‘s Long March 2C rocket that launched the same day.
Pictured: The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches into the sky on March 24
The light blue spiral is formed when excess fuel that has been released from a rocket turns to ice, and then water vapour
‘The spiral happens when the rocket is tumbling end over end while venting its fuel – it’s then exactly like a garden sprinkler,’ McDowell told DailyMail.com at the time.
‘Except that because it is in space the spiral stays perfect over hundreds of miles because there is no air to mess up the shape – that’s why it looks surprising to us, we’re not used to seeing such perfect geometries because on Earth there’s always wind or friction to distort things.’
The phenomenon is similar to what was seen over Norway in December 2009.
A blue swirling light lit up the morning sky that was caused by Russia conducting a missile test in the area.
The jinxed Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile failed at the third stage after being test-fired from a submarine in the White Sea, Russia’s military said.
Norwegians were baffled when a blue light soared up close to the country’s Arctic region, formed a giant spiral and shot a green-blue beam from its centre.
Onlookers described it as ‘like a big fireball that went around, with a great light around it’ and ‘a shooting star that spun around and around.’