There's no need to fear an alien invasion just yet.
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan/Handout
An astonishing blue spiral, spinning in a perfect “whirlpool,” was recently spotted in the night sky overThe unearthly sight was caught by the Subaru Telescope at the summit ofon the Big Island of Hawaii. Shortly before 4:45 a.m. on Jan. 18, a small blue dot could be seen amid a blanket of stars. The dot rapidly expanded until it formed into a spinning mass with bright blue tendrils of light emanating from its center. It slowly disappeared over the course of about 15 minutes.
Scientists who help operate the telescope said the “mysterious whirlpool” was likely due to a SpaceX launch. “Earlier that day, the SpaceX launched a satellite into a medium-earth orbit,” the telescope’s YouTube channel posted. “We believe this phenomenon is related [to] its orbital deployment operation.”
Hours before across the country, SpaceX had launched a Falcon 9 GPS rocket from the U.S. Space Force’s station in Cape Canaveral, Florida. SpaceX, which is owned by Elon Musk, has government contracts with the Space Force. According to, spirals have been seen in the sky after other SpaceX launches too. It may be because extra fuel is being vented from the craft.
The Subaru Telescope is operated jointly by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and the National Institutes of Natural Sciences. Because Maunakea’s summit is above the clouds and there isn’t much light pollution on the Hawaiian Islands, scientists can capture remarkably clear images of space; Hawaii officials allow countries across the globe to operate telescopes atop Maunakea.
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