Dazzling blue spiral over Europe

On Monday night, a mysterious blue spiral was spotted in the night sky across parts of Europe.

The phenomenon was the result of a rocket launch from SpaceX. At 1:48 p.m. Eastern time (6:48 p.m. middle European time), a Falcon 9 rocket took off from the Cape Canaveral Defense Center in Florida.

During the rocket's flight, the discharge of fuel created a cloud of frozen exhaust gases. The sun briefly illuminated this cloud, causing the celestial spectacle. The cloud was visible as a spiral as the rocket rotated on its axis during liftoff.

Similar observations have been made in various places around the world in the past.