what kind of phenomenon and what does Elon Musk have to do with it

On Saturday, residents of Alaska could observe a strange celestial phenomenon – a blue spiral, which someone could mistake for a portal to another galaxy. But, as it quickly became clear, this phenomenon has nothing to do with UFOs or other galaxies. But it is directly related to the activities of Elon Musk.

The inhabitants of Alaska are accustomed to the fact that at night the sky above their heads shimmers with colors: the northern lights are a common occurrence for these parts. However, on Saturday, a mysterious blue spiral appeared among the green, red and purple bands of light. As if somewhere near the Earth suddenly a new galaxy was born.

Photos of the unusual phenomenon, which disappeared as suddenly and quickly as it appeared, scattered across social networks. Someone suggested that it really was a cluster of stars, someone – that aliens are related to the mysterious phenomenon.

“It flew over Alaska during the beautiful northern lights, stunning many nighttime observers, including myself,” he said. Associated Press acclaimed photographer Todd Salat observing the Northern Lights. “Trust me, at first I was completely confused… and enjoyed the mysterious feeling of the unknown.”

Scientists had to reassure Mr. Salat and the people of Alaska. As an astronaut at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute explained, Elon Musk and his company SpaceX are behind the unusual phenomenon. A few hours before the appearance of the mysterious spiral, the company launched a Falcon 9 rocket from the spaceport in California. After the upper stage takes the rocket into orbit, it disconnects and then dumps excess fuel into the atmosphere. “When this happens at high altitudes, the fuel turns into ice,” the expert said. “And if this happens in sunlight, and you are in the dark on Earth, then you see it as some kind of big cloud, sometimes swirling.”

In this case, the cloud turned into a spiral, since the upper stage was also rotating.

Note that this is not the first appearance of blue spirals in the sky. Similar cases were recorded, for example, in the sky over Hawaii in January of this year, as well as in April 2022. Each time, the spirals occurred after SpaceX launched its spacecraft.

Kirill Sarkhanyants