[Image: Daniel Puchalski from Poland]
On Monday night (March 24), a bizarre blue spiral lit up the skies over Europe, leaving people in the UK, Croatia, Poland, and Hungary scrambling to take photos, post them online, and demand answers.
Naturally, the internet did what it does best – speculated wildly. Some thought it was a new galaxy forming, others reckoned it was a wormhole, and, of course, the alien theories rolled in thick and fast.
But before you start prepping your tinfoil hat, we’ve got answers. And sorry to disappoint (or reassure?), but it’s got nothing to do with little green men. Turns out the mysterious spiral was the work of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket doing its thing.
Space reported that it launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida, carrying a top-secret mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (which, let’s be honest, only makes it sound more suspicious).
It was Europe that got treated to the celestial spiral show, which lasted a few minutes, just enough time for social media to go full-blown conspiracy mode. A timelapse from Shanghai Daily showed the eerie swirl expanding over Croatia, looking straight out of a sci-fi movie.
A stunning spiral appeared in the sky over many European countries last night, likely caused by the frozen fuel released from @SpaceX‘s Falcon 9 #rocket. pic.twitter.com/pFzK2lJ0zu
— Shanghai Daily (@shanghaidaily) March 25, 2025
So, what’s the deal? These so-called “SpaceX spirals” happen when the upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket separates from its booster. The first stage drops back to Earth for recovery, while the upper stage heads further into space. After dropping off its secret cargo, it starts spiraling back down, dumping the last bits of leftover fuel. Because it’s so high up, the fuel freezes instantly, forming a hypnotic swirl that catches the light just right, turning it into a cosmic-looking spectacle.
Just saw a very strange object cross the night sky in n wales. Bright satellite or plane which was surrounded by a thin wispy spiral cloud which radiated from the object. Was followed by what seemed to be a satellite. Disappeared when it moved se suggesting was lit by sun. pic.twitter.com/67MBU5PXio
— Merlin Tomkins (@MerlinTomkins) March 24, 2025
Recorded 20 min ago pic.twitter.com/fsYDAQhDcf
— matts (@mttsttn) March 24, 2025
If this had happened over SA, we’d probably have had WhatsApp aunties warning about the end times, memes blaming Eskom, and Cape Town influencers claiming they manifested it with their crystals. But, alas, this one was just another day in the expensive world of Musk’s space travel.
[Source: Space]
