Elon Musk's SpaceX's THIS doing likely caused a ‘pretty rare’ phenomenon

On Monday, a giant glowing spiral appeared in the night sky over parts of the UK, leaving onlookers starstruck. It is thought that leftover fuel from Elon Musk's SpaceX rocket, which was launched hundreds of miles away in the United States, is what generated the captivating yet enigmatic swirl, which was visible for a few minutes before vanishing.

As part of a classified US government mission, Musk's space company's Falcon 9 rocket took off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center at approximately 13:50 local time (17:50 GMT). Since Falcon 9 is a reusable rocket, any leftover fuel is jettisoned into space during the rocket's return journey to Earth after deploying its payload, such as a satellite.

Because of the rocket's extreme altitude, the fuel instantly freezes and takes on a spiral shape as it spins, making the spiral visible from the ground. The phenomenon was photographed in England and Wales, and sightings were reported throughout Europe. Astronomer Allan Trow, who saw the glowing swirl at around 20:00 in Wales's Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, confirmed its rarity by telling the BBC that the SpaceX launch was most likely the cause.