Mysterious spirals of blue light in sky stun New Zealand stargazers

Mysterious spirals of blue light in sky stun New Zealand stargazers

Apparently, a SpaceX rocket gave New Zealand a little show last night.

The mysterious spiral was seen in the sky around 7.30pm on Sunday in New Zealand’s South Island

Spirals of sparkling neon blue lights have appeared in the sky, confusing and delighting those who saw it.

The hazy blue lights looked like a small galaxy forming in the sky, noted people in New Zealand who watched as the rare formation appeared on Sunday evening.

The strange sights led to a flurry of reports and confusion on social media, as people looked for explanations of what was powering the twisting lights.

Soon after, the source of the display was revealed: a SpaceX rocket letting out fuel soon after it had launched.

I've seen similar images/videos in the past, but it's still pretty cool. I'd love to look up in the sky and unexpectedly see that.

Reported to be brighter in some parts of the Pacific, the spiral was also seen in Fiji, Samoa, New Caledonia and the small island of Tokelau, reportedNew Zealand Herald.

Putting the curiosity of locals to rest, the country’s New Plymouth Astronomical Society confirmed that the occurrence in the sky was not a suspicious alien activity but rather a phenomenon caused by human activities after the SpaceX rocket launch.

“The ‘spiral’ that was seen in the sky tonight around 7.30pm was most likely a "fuel dump" or "exhaust plume" from a SpaceX rocket launch,” the cohort said on Facebook in a post.

“It is shown in the video below passing South of NZ just over an hour into its flight which would have been around 5:30, and would probably have passed again around 90-120 minutes later which would then have been around 7:30.”

This was corroborated by SpaceX, which has staged three successful Falcon 9 launches over the weekends, pushing out a total of 55 satellites into space.

.....

“The reason it is done is for safety; to minimise the risk of an explosion of the vehicle, which in turn, would create a large amount of space junk, or orbital debris that would then put other space vehicles in danger. At such a high altitude, the fuel is dissipated quickly and poses no environmental threat to the Earth," the New Plymouth Astronomical Society said.

www.independent.co.uk...

www.msn.com... dc9876f7992a6efc264#image=1

a reply to: BrokenCircles

Why the weird spiral pattern if it's just fuel. Wouldn't it follow a linear pattern? When airplanes dump fuel it follows a linear pattern in the sky so I don't understand why fuel from a rocket would be different.....

a reply to: lostbook

I'm just guessing, but I assume it's because unlike an airplane, the rocket is no longer flying in a straight pattern. It is floating. Then the pressure from the fuel being released causes it to spin.... but I could be wrong.


eta... Still guessing: I bet it's done that way intentionally. It's probably released out the side of each end so that it will only spin, and not be sent off on an unplanned course/trajectory.

Wasnt there something similar from the Russian space launch a few years earlier...that said who is shooting stuff off in the southern hemisphere? China North? Korea? if it is of earthly origins they say its a SpaceX ROCKET

Looks more like an opening to a wormhole to me, not that I have any reference but just how I'd imagine one may look like. Pretty cool though, I have to say if I saw that on my drive home or outside at night I'd be equally parts freaked out and in awe.

originally posted by: Katatonik
Looks more like an opening to a wormhole to me, not that I have any reference but just how I'd imagine one may look like. Pretty cool though, I have to say if I saw that on my drive home or outside at night I'd be equally parts freaked out and in awe.

I know right?

originally posted by: BrokenCircles
a reply to: lostbook

I'm just guessing, but I assume it's because unlike an airplane, the rocket is no longer flying in a straight pattern. It is floating. Then the pressure from the fuel being released causes it to spin.... but I could be wrong.

Oh so it's from a rocket stage being jettisoned and now it's spiraling and releasing fuel?

a reply to: putnam6

Yes... Supposedly.

If it's just from a SpaceX rocket why is this the first time ?

originally posted by: markovian
If it's just from a SpaceX rocket why is this the first time ?

Not the first time...

a reply to: markovian

Apparently, this one was a failed missile, but it's similar.

This phenomenon can happen during successful or failed rocket launches. It was first observed during Atlas-Centaur rocket launches in the 1960’s.
I read somewhere that there were theories that it was caused by currents in the ionosphere.

Like a portal opening or the firmament being penetrated.

a reply to: BrokenCircles

Everyone is just cool with a rocket ejecting it's fuel all over the place?

a reply to: scraedtosleep

It's not as bad as it sounds.

“The reason it is done is for safety; to minimise the risk of an explosion of the vehicle, which in turn, would create a large amount of space junk, or orbital debris that would then put other space vehicles in danger. At such a high altitude, the fuel is dissipated quickly and poses no environmental threat to the Earth," the New Plymouth Astronomical Society said.

www.independent.co.uk...

originally posted by: BrokenCircles
a reply to: scraedtosleep

It's not as bad as it sounds.

“The reason it is done is for safety; to minimise the risk of an explosion of the vehicle, which in turn, would create a large amount of space junk, or orbital debris that would then put other space vehicles in danger. At such a high altitude, the fuel is dissipated quickly and poses no environmental threat to the Earth," the New Plymouth Astronomical Society said.

www.independent.co.uk...

all the fuel will come together in a ball.

won't it?

like a bomb that just needs a spark.

unless space does something to it.

a reply to: sarahvital

They're not entirely outside of our atmosphere though, so it's not being released into the complete vacuum of outer space.

originally posted by: BrokenCircles
a reply to: sarahvital

They're not entirely outside of our atmosphere though, so it's not being released into the complete vacuum of outer space.

oh ok thanks!