Giant Blue Spiral Stuns Sky-watchers: Here’s What Caused It

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Stargazers in parts of Europe were stunned by an unusual sight on Monday evening: a large, glowing blue spiral in the sky.

Images and videos posted to social media showed the strange cloud-like phenomenon, with users wondering what caused the intriguing sight.

The UK Met Office, the country’s weather and climate service, said the culprit was a SpaceX rocket launched from Florida, according to a report from the BBC. Fuel from the rocket’s exhaust froze in the atmosphere, reflecting light from the setting sun and appearing to spin in the sky.


The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at around 2 p.m. ET on Monday for a classified mission for the National Reconnaissance Office, a U.S. Intelligence Community for National Security. Once the reusable rocket separated from its payload (the capsule or object it’s sending into orbit), it ejected its unused fuel, which instantly froze at the high altitude.

Rocket launches often create interesting aerial phenomena. Contrails from early morning or late evening launches can produce noctilucent clouds that appear to glow in the central Florida sky.

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