March 25, 2025 — A bizarre blue spiral illuminated the night sky over Europe on Monday, March 24, sparking widespread speculation and confusion. Residents across the U.K., Croatia, Poland, and Hungary flooded social media with photos and videos, trying to identify the unusual light formation. Some even suggested it could be the work of extraterrestrial visitors!
But the truth behind this stunning sky display is far less mysterious—and much more down-to-earth.
The source of the strange blue spiral is a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 1:48 p.m. EDT (1748 GMT) on March 24. The rocket was carrying the NROL-69 mission, a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
The spiral was spotted over Europe around 4 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT), lasting just a few minutes in the sky. A timelapse video posted by Shanghai Daily on X (formerly Twitter) captured the mesmerizing sight as it expanded across the Croatian sky.
So, what caused the spiral? It’s not aliens, but a phenomenon known as a “SpaceX spiral”. This optical effect occurs when the upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket separates from its first-stage booster after launch. As the upper stage heads into space, the booster stage falls back to Earth, and as it descends, it begins to spiral. During this descent, the booster releases any remaining fuel, which freezes instantly due to the altitude, forming a swirling pattern in the sky.
When light hits this frozen fuel cloud, it creates the stunning spiral that many people mistakenly thought could be an alien spacecraft or distant galaxy.
While the sight may have looked otherworldly, it’s simply the result of space technology at work—specifically, a fascinating visual phenomenon created by a SpaceX rocket’s launch.
