Giant SpaceX Swirl Sparkles Across Swathes of Europe
A large glowing spiral swirl was spotted floating across the skies of Europe last night. It is believed to have been caused by a frozen plume of fuel that emanated from a SpaceX rocket launch.
The BBC reports that the cloud-like phenomenon was visible for several minutes above the UK and other parts of Europe.
A Falcon 9 Rocket blasted off yesterday around 1.50 PM Eastern Standard Time; about 6 PM UK time. The SpaceX rocket was launching for a classified US government mission.
A camera in Plaski, Croatia captured a spectacular view of the swirl (see top of the page). That video is sped up to just four seconds but the real-time version shows the swirl moving slowly over a period of nearly seven minutes.
How cool is this…our @bbcweather Watchers have captured the @SpaceX spiral in the skies above the UK this evening after a rocket launch in the US…
*caused by illuminated frozen fuel expelled from the rocket second stage. pic.twitter.com/X7UTxGm81H
— Simon King (@SimonOKing) March 24, 2025
Space Oddity: Last night, a glowing spiral lit up Europe’s sky, caused by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from the NROL-69 launch earlier in the evening. Frozen fuel from the 2nd stage reflected sunlight during deorbit, creating a stunning vortex. Timelapse of the event is spectacular! pic.twitter.com/rdU9lcxcZU
— John Cremeans (@JohnCremeansX) March 25, 2025
In many ways, it is a shame that photographers aren’t given advanced notice when one of these SpaceX spirals appears as otherwise we would have clearer, more creative shots of the phenomenon. In 2023, photographer Todd Salat was out in Alaska shooting pictures of the aurora when one of the giant spirals suddenly turned up.
The reason for the swirl, as explained by Space Weather, is the rocket’s second stage was spinning the moment it dumped its fuel which sent the exhaust into a spiral. The swirls are now a “routine by-product” of the Elon Musk-owned space company’s operations.
Image credits: Feature image courtesy of YouTube/@pogled-na-plaski
