What was the mysterious spiral spotted above south Essex? Here's all we know
A MYSTERIOUS glowing spiral witnessed above south Essex yesterday is believed to have been caused by a SpaceX rocket launch.
Residents were left surprised on Monday evening after capturing a sight of the visual in the sky above Rochford and Southend.
Many were left baffled by what the mystery light could have been, and were not alone with people from all over the UK sharing their images of the sighting.
Spiral - Residents were surprised by the sight. (Image: Jessica Mannering)
Sight - The visual seen above south Essex (Image: Dawn Watson)
It has since been reported this could be the result of the launch of SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket.
The Met Office confirmed the visual was likely caused by light reflecting off of frozen rocket fuel ejected from its exhaust.
The plume was visible for several minutes above the country and other parts of Europe before dissipating.
Sharing their verdict, a Met Office spokesman shared on X last night: "We've received many reports of an illuminated swirl in the sky this evening. This is likely to be caused by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched earlier today. The rocket's frozen exhaust plume appears to be spinning in the atmosphere and reflecting the sunlight, causing it to appear as a spiral in the sky."
Glow - Residents reported the sight yesterday evening (Image: Jessica Mannering)
Frozen fuel - The sight was likely a result of frozen rocket fuel according to the Met Office (Image: Jessica Mannering) SpaceX's rocket had launched at around 5.50pm on a classified US government mission.
The fuel appeared to glow due to it being frozen upon its release at a high altitude, before forming a spiral patter due to the rocket's movement, with light subsequently reflecting off the fuel.
One Echo reader, Jessica Mannering, was able to capture the extraordinary sight taking place over Rochford's skies, while Dawn Watson was also able to snap the sight at 8:05pm.
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