2025-08-15T10:00:38Z

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Imagine looking up into the night sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of a shooting star, only to be met with a mesmerizing spiral of ghostly white light dancing above you! Well, that’s exactly what happened recently when stargazers across the U.S. were treated to a stunning celestial surprise.

On the evening of August 12, as the Perseid meteor shower peaked, a faint point of light appeared over parts of the U.S. and Canada before it transformed into a gigantic, luminous whirlpool. This ethereal display illuminated the sky for about ten minutes, captivating viewers across at least ten states, including Maryland, New York, and Illinois.

Photographer Joshua Thum was one of the lucky ones, capturing the breathtaking spectacle above the Yerkes Observatory in Wisconsin. Meanwhile, astrophotographer Dan Bush filmed the spiral as it wove its way through the night sky in Albany, Missouri. The images are nothing short of magical.

So, what exactly caused this mesmerizing spiral? Well, experts have determined that it was a cloud of rocket fuel released from a spacecraft preparing to reenter Earth’s atmosphere. When the fuel is dumped, it freezes into tiny crystals that catch and reflect sunlight, creating this stunning visual effect until the crystals vanish into the darkness.

However, things got a bit murky regarding which rocket was responsible for this enchanting display. Initial speculation pointed to the United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket, which had launched from Cape Canaveral just before the spiral was observed. But the plot thickened when it was revealed that the European Space Agency’s Ariane 6 rocket had launched from French Guiana only 19 minutes earlier.

Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer with over three decades of experience tracking rocket launches, weighed in on the debate. He believes the Ariane 6 is the most likely culprit, given its trajectory, yet there’s still no definitive answer as to which rocket created the light show.

This glowing spiral is part of a growing trend—over the past few years, similar light displays have become more common as rocket launches have surged, thanks to private companies like SpaceX. Many of these spirals are now colloquially known as “SpaceX spirals,” with one of the most notable occurrences being a giant whirlpool seen above the U.K. earlier this year.

As we continue to explore the cosmos and launch more rockets, who knows what other extraordinary phenomena await us in the night sky?