On a Saturday morning, the people of Alaska were amazed to see mysterious whitish-blue spirals of light moving quickly across the sky in the northern horizon. Todd Salat, a photographer and specialist in the northern lights, witnessed the phenomenon and was left in awe. As the spirals drew nearer, they became bigger and more intricate. For around five minutes, the spirals were almost overhead. Salat spent two hours taking pictures of the moving auroras, believing them to be “spiral”.
Don Hampton, a research associate professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, explained that the spiral “appears to be rocket engine exhaust from a SpaceX Transporter-7 mission that launched on the Falcon 9 about three hours earlier in California.” He added that the water vapour in the exhaust from the second stage engine freezes and catches high-altitude sunlight, creating a glowing spiral galaxy display.
Hampton also mentioned that as the rocket gained altitude, it did a pass-by over Alaska, stunning many night-watchers. Elizabeth Withnall, who was in the Northwest Arctic hoping to catch a glimpse of the northern lights, also saw the lightning sky hundreds of miles away. She said, “We get a lot of very unusual phenomenon in the sky in the far north. I’ve seen fog bows and rainbows around the moon. So I just thought, ‘this is some weird thing in the sky, and I don’t know what it is, but it’s pretty cool’.”
Salat, while exploring what caused the auroras, said that solving the mystery was not quite as satisfying as seeing the strange phenomenon in the first place. He said, “The spiral was so perfect. It was beautiful. It was kind of a shame to think of it as exhaust, I have to admit. I did enjoy that mystery and the unknown because after I found out what it was, I noticed that the wonder of it all kind of faded a little bit.”
The strange and beautiful display of the spirals left many people in awe and wonder. It was a reminder of the beauty and mystery of the natural world and how much we have yet to discover. The incident also demonstrated the power of science in providing an explanation for phenomena that once seemed inexplicable. It was a truly unique and fascinating event that will be remembered by those who witnessed it for a long time to come.
