A large, bright blue spiral spotted over Europe on Monday night sparked chatter on social media about what might have caused the mysterious vortex.
Videos posted on the X showed a blue orb in the night sky that was visible in the U.K., France and other countries.
In a post on X, AccuWeather said the mesmerizing blue spiral might have been caused by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The post quoted the U.K. Met Office in saying,the spiral probably came about due to the rocket’s “frozen exhaust plume… spinning in the atmosphere and reflecting the sunlight, causing it to appear as a spiral in the sky.”
The flight, dubbed NROL-69, launched shortly before 2 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, according to Space X’s website, where the launch can be seen on video. A spokesman for SpaceX could not immediately be reached for comment.
A Falcon 9 has previously caused a stir in Southern California with the light show it left in its wake.
The launch of SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base is seen over Huntington Beach at dusk on March 18, 2024.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Sci-fi fans might see a similarity with another blue vortex.
The spiral is reminiscent of the phenomenon in the 1980 film “The Final Countdown,” in which the USS Nimitz enters a blue vortex and travels through time to the day before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Of course, it’s Hollywood, no explanation is needed.
