SpaceX Fuel Dump Creates Sky Spiral in Alaska

Viewers of the Aurora Borealis recently got themselves a surprise.

A light baby blue spiral resembling a spiral galaxy appeared suddenly during Apr. 15's Aurora Borealis in Alaska, stunning and bewildering many enthusiasts and viewers at the same time.

People who wish to see the Aurora Borealis at their brightest must head out to places close to Earth's poles, specifically within the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, per the National Geographic Society.

Apr. 15 Alaska Blue Spiral Details

The Alaska Blue Spiral lasted that Aurora Borealis enthusiasts and viewers saw on Apr. 15 lasted only for a few short minutes, but the impact it left them lasted much longer.

Todd Salat, a self-proclaimed Aurora Hunter, managed to capture a photo of the weird phenomenon and shared it online for the rest of the world to see. According to his account, he was "utterly surprised and mystified" when he first saw the Blue Spiral coming toward him from the northern horizon, with him initially rationalizing that a jet airliner flying through some clouds caused the spiral to appear.

He mentioned to CBS News that he was sailing through the lights and over Donnelly Dome near Delta Junction, southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska when he saw the spiral.

Salat is not the only one who saw the spiral. Elizabeth Withnall, who was in northwest Alaska at the time, mentioned that she also saw the Blue Spiral while she was watching the Aurora Borealis on the evening of Apr. 15.

Rocket Venting in The Night Sky

While seeing the Blue Spiral seemingly coming at you can be a bewildering and crazy experience, what caused it isn't anything extraterrestrial or supernatural. According to a report from the Associated Press, the Blue Spiral appeared because a SpaceX rocket, which launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California three hours earlier, released excess fuel in space. A Space.com article mentioned that the Falcon 9 rocket that created the blue spiral had more than 50 satellites on board and lifted off at 2:48 a.m. ET.

Space Physicist Don Hampton, a research associate professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, said rockets sometimes have fuel that needs to be jettisoned into space. When they do that at a high enough altitude in the sunlight, the fuel they release will turn into ice and appear as a big, swirly cloud in the night sky.

Whether the blue spiral SpaceX inadvertently created added to the Apr. 15 Aurora Borealis beauty or if it stole the show is still a matter of debate, but one thing's for sure: it doesn't happen as often as it sounds, considering SpaceX's activities in space.

Hampton said that spirals such as the one that appeared on Apr. 15 were not a common sight and that he'd seen such occurrences about three times in his career. Additionally, Hampton said that the Falcon 9 rocket dumped its fuel happened at the right time to be visible in Alaska, resulting in the spiral people saw that night.