The appearance of a strange spiral has been shared online after being captured by the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska, USA.
Aurora enthusiasts were surprised to observe the sky in Alaska on the early morning of April 15 and saw a light blue spiral resembling a galaxy appear amidst the aurora for a few minutes, according to the Guardian.
A light blue spiral appeared amidst the aurora for a few minutes in the sky over Alaska. (Photo: AP).
The cause of the phenomenon is due to excess fuel released from a SpaceX rocket launched from California about 3 hours before the spiral appeared.
Don Hampton, a research associate at the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska, confirmed that the spiral “seems to be exhaust from the rocket engine belonging to SpaceX’s Transporter-7 mission, which launched a Falcon 9 rocket from California about 3 hours earlier.”
He added that sometimes rockets need to dump fuel.
“When they do this at high altitudes, that fuel will turn into ice,” he said. “And if this happens in sunlight, when you are in the shadow on the ground, it can appear like a large cloud, and sometimes it takes on a spiral shape.”
Although not a common sight, Hampton mentioned that he has seen such events about 3 times.
The appearance of the spiral was recorded in a time-lapse on the Geophysical Institute’s all-sky camera and was widely shared.
“That swirling image went viral on the internet,” Hampton stated.
Photographers who witnessed the phenomenon also posted their photos on social media.
“The spiral shape was perfect. It was beautiful. I must say, it’s a pity to know it’s exhaust from a spacecraft,” Todd Salat shared. “I was intrigued by the mystery of something I didn’t understand, but once I found out what it was, I noticed the excitement faded a bit.”
