Many of us remember the splash made when a mysterious (and somewhat terrifyingly bizarre) spiral was seen in the sky over Norway late last year. Admittedly, at first glance, it looks like a sure sign of the Apocalypse.
However, take a closer look. It appears to be dusk. The wild, spiral display is still in sunlight, even though the ground is not. This indicates that the spiral is something not just up in the sky but rather in orbit (extremely high altitude).
Then, once you’re able to peel your eyes from the spiral, you’ll notice that a spiraling blue contrail is visible behind the centerpoint of the design, and this seems to indicate a rocket of some kind. Once you’re there, you’ve got it figured. The trick is that the above display is in 3D, not a flat plane as it first appears. The blue contrail is coming at the photographer from extreme distance, as is the spiral, it would seem.
Keep playing the thought experiment forward. A spinning rocket? What would a spinning rocket venting a material of some kind into space look like from the Earth?
And there you have it. It came out days later that the display was caused by a Russian nuclear missile test.
Fast-forward half-a-year, and we have the momentous launch of the first Falcon 9 rocket by SpaceX:
Then, not 24 hours after the launch, another spiral!
Like Norway, UFO reports were filed all over Australia. Unsurprisingly, it was confirmed as the Falcon 9.
So, it seems that, as a globe, we really need to get with the times. We launch space rockets, and we’ve been doing it for the better part of a century. Strange displays in the sky, while admittedly doomsday-looking (ever seen a solar eclipse?), will only become more commonplace with time.
What’s the take-home here? In the future, count on a lot less “U” next to the dazzling “FO,” and take it to heart before calling 911 to tell the dispatcher about it. =)
Chronicles of an Atomic Astrowright 