Here are some early references to atmospheric spirals and concentric rings associated with rocket launches:
The Marine Observer
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From the link:
m.v. British Oak. Teneriffe to Monrovia. Captain A. C. Browne. Observers, the Master and Mr. P. M. Edge, Chief Officer. 27th November 1963. A point of
light of about 2nd magnitude with an elliptical glow of approx. 3o diameter and concentric circles of light was observed through binoculars at 1925
GMT. It was first seen bearing 230o at 18o altitude and disappeared 4 min. later bearing 190o, altitude 8o. The sky was cloudless and the atmosphere
clear. Position of ship: 24o 27'N, 17o 14'W.
m.v. Ripon. Captain Smith. On passage to Freetown. Observers, the Master and Mr. G. W. Brown, Chief Officer. 27th November 1963. At 1926 GMT an
illuminated body was observed bearing 270o, altitude 30o. It appeared at first to have a suffused glow around it, but as the object moved parallel
with the ship's course, the glow assumed the definite form of a tight spiral of blue-white light. The spiral expanded to a maximum radius of about 5o
with about 12 turns visible at one time when bearing 200o, altitude 20o. The size afterwards diminished until the body faded from sight bearing 155o,
altitude 12o, at 1931. As the object moved in azimuth, it also appeared to be gyrating about a centre in an anticlockwise direction and to vary in
brilliance. At its brightest the object had a brilliance less than Venus and greater than Altair; its track passed between these two bodies. The whole
phenomenon gave the impression of looking into a conically formed spring and was indeed a most sensational sight. We can only conjecture that it was
an artificial satellite 'gone wrong' or passing through a cloud of meteoric dust. The accompanying sketches show how the phenomenon appeared to the
observers. There was a cloudless sky and bright moonlight at the time. Position of vessel: 10o 5'N, 15o 59'W.
m.v. Pennyworth. Captain I. Gault. Middlesbrough to Monrovia. Observers, Mr. J. H. Edwards, 2nd Radio Officer, the Master, Mr. J. Nielsen, Chief
Officer, Mr. J. MacKenzie, 3rd Officer, Mr. T. Walker, 1st Radio Officer, and the Chief Enfineer. 27th November 1963. At 1900 GMT for approx. 5 min. a
bright object having a magnitude greater than any other star or planet was seen in the sky. It appeared to be stationary in the west at an elevation
of 40o, for about 2 min. It then moved off rapidly in a SE'ly direction, disappearing about 2 min. later. The bright light from the object radiated
outwards, like the ripples from a pebble thrown into a pond; at first in concentric circles, then in a spiral and finally in concentric half-circles.
The general impressions of the phenomena seen are shown in the accompanying sketches. The object was definitely not a meteorite, and the course was
too erratic for an earth satellite. Position of ship: 7o 39'N, 14o 13'W.
Note this:
Note 1. What was seen by the ships was undoubtedly an American rocket, Centaur 2, launched from Cape Kennedy at 1900 GMT on 27th November 1963. The
times and positions indicated by the three ships agree very closely with calculated values. The odd appearance cannot be explained precisely but it is
no doubt associated with the fact that the rocket when seen was still under power or had very recently been so. (Marine Observer, 34:181-183, 1964)
ETA: The rocket launch spoken of above was successful, according to this:
1963 November 27 - . 19:03 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC36A. LV Family: Atlas. Launch Vehicle: Atlas Centaur.
LV Configuration: Atlas Centaur AC-2 / Centaur D 126D. Atlas Centaur 2 - . Payload: Centaur 2B. Mass: 4,620 kg (10,180 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: NASA
Cleveland. Class: Moon. Type: Lunar probe. Spacecraft: Surveyor. USAF Sat Cat: 694 . COSPAR: 1963-047A. Apogee: 1,478 km (918 mi). Perigee: 469 km
(291 mi). Inclination: 30.4000 deg. Period: 104.60 min. Summary: Launch vehicle test. Launch vehicle put dummy payload into geosynchronous transfer
orbit. First successful Centaur (liquid hydrogen-fueled) flight..
Astronautix
Reading the descriptions provided from the observers, it sounds (to me) like they saw something very much like the Norway Spiral. Too bad they didn't
take any photos. My original connection with this was in a book that I read a number of years ago, and I forget the title now. In it, some scientist
theorized that the spirals were caused by a phenomenon having to do with an interaction of the rocket exhaust and the ionosphere. I can't remember any
details about that theory, I am sorry to say.
edit on 27-1-2012 by butcherguy because: To add.
edit on 28-1-2012 by butcherguy because: (no reason given)
