Erm, did you see that glowing blue spiral in the sky last night? Here’s what caused it

I woke up today to conspiracy theories about aliens visiting Earth after a glowing blue spiral was pictured in the sky, but as with most things, there’s a very scientific explanation and is has everything to do with a SpaceX rocket launch.

On Monday night, TikTok and Twitter became filled with pictures, videos, and time-lapsed clips of a gigantic blue spiral moving across the night sky. It was pictured throughout much of Europe, with people in Yorkshire, Manchester, and Bristol all sharing footage online. Naturally, rumours of aliens began swirling and one person even claimed that it was the “simulation breaking down.”

“We saw it in Cumbria, it was blue for us and had spirals coming off it, then moved across the sky slowly away from us keeping the spirals around it. But getting bigger,” one person said on Twitter.

“It appears someone is using a high-power hologram projector,” another suggested, while a third questioned, “Are we being invaded?”

Unfortunately, hot aliens will not be abducting us and the real cause is actually much more mundane.

The glowing blue spiral was caused by a SpaceX rocket launch

As with most things in 2025, all roads lead back to billionaires and the glowing blue spiral was actually caused (indirectly) by Elon Musk.

On Twitter, the Met Office explained: “This is likely to be caused by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched earlier today. The rocket’s frozen exhaust plume appears to be spinning in the atmosphere and reflecting the sunlight, causing it to appear as a spiral in the sky.”

We've received many reports of an illuminated swirl in the sky this evening 💫

This is likely to be caused by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched earlier today. The rocket's frozen exhaust plume appears to be spinning in the atmosphere and reflecting the sunlight, causing it to… pic.twitter.com/4a9urgZceR

— Met Office (@metoffice) March 24, 2025

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The only man to be trusted in matters of space, Brian Cox, also confirmed: “For everyone asking about the strange spiral shape in the sky earlier – it was associated with this launch.”

The space launch, Falcon 9, happened at around 17:30 on Monday in what was a seriously classified mission for the US government. The rocket carried a spy satellite to an undisclosed location in orbit before returning to the ground, with the second stage ejecting leftover fuel into the atmosphere which caused that blue glow.

There you have it folks. It might not be particularly exciting but it’s still undeniably cool. This is not the first time it’s been seen though, with people in Hawaii seeing a similar display back in 2023 and in New Zealand in 2022.

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Featured image credit: Met Office/Canva