A mysterious blue spiral light recently appeared in the sky, which the residents witnessed in New Zealand. The blue spiral light baffled viewers, and they speculated that a UFO created it. However, the truth was eventually uncovered and determined that it was created by a dying SpaceX rocket.
The blue spiral light was triggered by a dying SpaceX rocket
The strange blue light made by a spiraling plume of gas was seen in the sky over the city of Nelson as it traveled almost 750 kilometers to Stewart Island. The phenomenon was triggered by a dying rocket launched by SpaceX, a company owned by Elon Musk. SpaceX launched a rocket to carry Globalstar DM15 satellites.
The rocket gradually released its payload, which led to a long vapor trail development. The illuminated plume resembled a swirling blue light. The sight amazed the Stewart Island residents as the bizarre blue spiral light moved north across the night sky. The spiral grew in length without blinking or twinkling, making the view even more enjoyable.
Stewart Island’s resident stargazer Alasdair Burns received a text from his friend. He said the light was like an enormous spiral galaxy. Burns snapped some images of the huge, blue spiral. He said: “We quickly banged on the doors of all our neighbors to get them out as well. And about five of us were all out on our shared veranda looking up and just freaking out a little bit.”
A similar incident occurred in 2009
Burns had thought a rocket launch possibly caused the spiral. He read about a similar incident in 2009 when the launch of a Russian missile created huge blue spirals over the sky in Norway.
Many others in New Zealand witnessed the celestial event and did not waste time snapping images or taking videos. Soon, social media was flooded with images and video clips of the spiral blue light trail.
Some viewers thought it was emitted by an alien spaceship, while others attributed the light to military rockets. The viewers reacted with varying feelings. Some were stunned by the sight and said it was a visual delight, while others worried about its source. However, it was not long before the truth was determined.
Auckland University physicist Richard Easther said it was an unusual sight, but that it was not beyond explanation. Easther said that such celestial sights can occur when a rocket launches a satellite into the Earth’s orbit.
He added: “When the fuel is ejected out the back, you have what’s essentially water and carbon dioxide — that briefly forms a cloud in space that’s illuminated by the sun. The geometry of the satellite’s orbit and how we’re sitting relative to the sun was just right to produce these completely wacky-looking clouds visible from the South Island.”
Incidentally, this is not the first time the launch of a Space X satellite has led to such a celestial event. Earlier, many passing Starlink satellites caused light trails like this one.
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