Eery 'glowing spiral' appears in night sky - as Met Office reveals likely cause
25 March 2025, 08:38
A strange "illuminated swirl" was spotted in the night sky on Monday, leading many to wonder what was causing it.
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Stargazers from across the UK and Ireland saw the eery apparition, as well as people as far south as Italy and as far away as Denmark.
But officials played down any fears it could represent some kind of unexplained presence.
The Met Office said the swirl was likely to be caused by the latest SpaceX rocket, which was launched on Monday.
Meteorologists said: "We've received many reports of an illuminated swirl in the sky this evening.
Read more: Stranded in space? I’ll stick to solid ground
We've received many reports of an illuminated swirl in the sky this evening 💫
— Met Office (@metoffice) March 24, 2025
This is likely to be caused by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched earlier today. The rocket's frozen exhaust plume appears to be spinning in the atmosphere and reflecting the sunlight, causing it to… pic.twitter.com/4a9urgZceR
"This is likely to be caused by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched earlier today.
"The rocket's frozen exhaust plume appears to be spinning in the atmosphere and reflecting the sunlight, causing it to appear as a spiral in the sky".
One social media user offered his own "dumbed-down" version of the explanation.
🔴 Ce time-lapse de la fusée Falcon 9 V1.2 ce soir manœuvrant au-dessus de l’Europe…😲 (©Neverin) pic.twitter.com/oBai4MrUll
— Météo Franc-Comtoise (@MeteoFrComtoise) March 24, 2025
He said: "Water in the exhaust smoke from rocket engine froze because its cold up there.
"When it froze it made loads of little ice crystals. Light reflects off the crystals like the glitter on your 'Live Laugh Love' sign in your bedroom."
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from the US state of Florida at around 5.50pm UK time on Monday on a US government mission.
