Home / Weather News /

Mysterious object: Eerie blue spiral in Hawaii's sky

05:00 PM
January 28, 2023

Mysterious object
Eerie blue spiral in Hawaii's sky

Settings for external content

Privacy policy
"On January 18th, our Subaru-Asahi star camera captured a vortex that appeared over Mauna Kea, Hawaii Island."

A mysterious swirl of blue light was spotted in the night sky above Hawaii's Mauna Kea. But what was it?

A video dated January 18, 2023 showed a glowing blob of light moving across the sky in Mauna Kea for several minutes before disappearing, captured by the Japanese Subaru Telescope.

Well, it turns out, this alien-looking object was simply frozen rocket fuel from SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Once the satellite was deployed in space, and before re-entering the Earth's atmosphere, the remaining rocket fuel was ejected, which resulted in a cloud of frozen fuel crystals.

Frozen rocket fuel has been known to create other magnificent displays before, with these so-called "SpaceX spirals" becoming more common.

Weather & Radar USA editorial team
More on the topic
rip current
Monday, May 26, 2025

As more head to the coast

Rip currents & safety tips
Saturday, May 3, 2025

May astronomy outlook

Meteor shower and the Flower Moon
Sunday, June 22, 2025

Why & how does it work?

High pressure & extreme heat
All weather news
This might also interest you
Saturday, July 12, 2025

Dusty twisters

Dust devils: not exactly a tornado
Hurricane Irma covers the entiret of Florida with Hurricane Maria coming up behind it.
Sunday, July 13, 2025

Do you live there?

6 riskiest places to live: hurricane edition
Monday, July 14, 2025

Daily briefing

Heavy Northeast rains, stormy Texas thru Ozarks
All articles
Weather & Radar

www.weatherandradar.com

instagramfacebookthreadsContact uslinkList
Privacy policy | Legal info | Accessibility statement