Unraveling the Mystery of Alaska's Glowing Spiral in the Night Sky
TL;DR
A light baby blue spiral resembling a galaxy appeared amid the aurora in Alaska's night sky, caused by excess fuel released from a SpaceX rocket that launched from California. The fuel turned into ice and reflected sunlight, creating a spiral cloud. The appearance of the swirl was caught in time-lapse on the Geophysical Institute’s all-sky camera and shared widely. While not a common sight, similar occurrences have been seen about three times.
Topics:sciencescience-and-technology#alaska#northern-lights#rocket-fuel#science-and-technology#spacex#spiral-cloud
- Odd spiral appears amid northern lights in Alaska night sky The Associated Press
- See the mysterious spiral swirling in Alaska sky amid aurora borealis Fox Weather
- Strange, glowing spiral in the sky over Alaska baffles locals New York Post
- Mysterious glowing spiral in the sky over Alaska draws questions, and a simple explanation Anchorage Daily News
- What Caused This Strange Glowing Spiral Over Alaska? There's a Simple Answer ScienceAlert
Want the full story? Read the original reporting
Read on The Associated Press