Latest news with #STEVE
Yahoo
a day ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Mysterious white streak outshines aurora, and it didn't come from space
The northern lights appeared in the sky over the United States on May 17, and onlookers were stunned when a bright white light outshone the purple and pink glow of the aurora. The mysterious light was reported by people across the western U.S. from New Mexico to Idaho. Turns out, it had Earthly origins. About an hour before the mysterious white streak appeared, China launched a rocket to deliver six satellites into space. The light is believed to have been from a rocket on the engine, or the spent rocket releasing leftover fuel before burning up in Earth's atmosphere. The rocket-created light show reminded some stargazers of STEVE, an aurora-like light in the sky which shines as a narrow ribbon of color, as opposed to the aurora borealis which is usually a colorful glow over a broad area of the sky. Mike Lewinski captured a time-lapse of the eerie light when it appeared over Crestone, Colorado, and was stunned by the sight. "The aurora was rippling low on the northern horizon when suddenly a bright streak of light, reminiscent of a rocket re-entry, appeared high in the sky and flowed down to the horizon," Lewinski told The time-lapse also captured several airplanes and dozens of satellites flying overhead.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Giant 'white streak' appears over multiple US states as Chinese rocket dumps experimental fuel in space
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A massive streak of white, aurora-like light recently appeared in the night sky above several U.S. states after a Chinese rocket released half a dozen satellites into orbit. The light show was triggered when the rocket dumped a new type of fuel into space before reentering the atmosphere, experts say. The luminous streak appeared at around 1:24 a.m. ET on Saturday (May 17), hanging in the air for around 10 minutes before eventually fading away. It was photographed in at least seven states — Colorado, Idaho, Utah, Missouri, Nebraska, Washington and New Mexico — but may have been visible even further afield, according to Photographer Mike Lewinski snapped stunning shots of the streak from Crestone, Colorado (see above) and also managed to capture timelapse footage of the entire event. Meanwhile, photographer Jay Shaffer took a striking long-exposure photo of the streak in Taos County, New Mexico (see below). In some places, the streak appeared alongside auroras that emerged during a G2-class geomagnetic storm, which was triggered earlier in the night when a cloud of charged particles ejected by the sun, known as a coronal mass ejection, slammed into Earth's magnetic field. As a result, many people who witnessed the streak assumed it was the aurora-like phenomenon known as STEVE, which creates long colored ribbons of light in the night sky. However, what people actually saw was the aftermath of one of China's Zhuque-2E rockets, which launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at around 12:12 a.m. ET, according to Space News. The rocket released six satellites, each carrying various scientific instruments, before it burned up in Earth's upper atmosphere upon reentry. Related: 10 bizarre phenomena that lit up the sky (and their scientific explanations) There was initially some confusion about exactly how the rocket created the stunning light show. "The white streak may have been a de-orbit burn, or perhaps a circularization burn for the deploying satellites," representatives wrote. Others thought it may have been light from the rocket's second stage burning up in our skies, while some people suggested that it may have been an "ionospheric hole," created when rocket fuel reacts with chemicals in the upper atmosphere, triggering streaking aurora-like lights. However, Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard and Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who tracks satellite launches and reentries, later revealed on the social platform X that it was caused by a "fuel dump" at an altitude of around 155 miles (250 kilometers) before the rocket de-orbited. The ejected fuel, which trailed behind the rocket, froze into a ribbon of tiny frozen crystals that then reflected sunlight toward Earth's surface, making it shine in the night sky. Similar light shows often occur when SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets dump their fuel before re-entering the atmosphere. In these cases, the spacecraft is normally spinning as it dumps the fuel, creating luminous whirlpools of light. Recent examples of these structures, nicknamed SpaceX spirals, include a luminous vortex spotted above the U.K. in March, a "horned" spiral that appeared over mainland Europe in May 2024 and a distant swirl visible from Hawaii in January 2023, among others. The Zhuque-2E rocket is a single-use orbital launch vehicle created by Chinese company LandSpace. It stands at around 160 feet (50 meters) tall and can launch up to 13,200 pounds (6,000 kilograms) of payloads into low-Earth orbit (LEO) — the region of space up to 1,200 miles (2,000 km) above Earth's surface, where the majority of Earth-orbiting satellites operate. Unlike most rockets, which use hydrogen or kerosene-based fuels, Zhuque-2E uses a special hybrid of liquid oxygen and liquid methane, known as "methalox." RELATED STORIES —Chinese scientists reveal plans for near-invisible stealth missiles that could 'redefine modern warfare' —China's secretive new 'Thousands Sails' satellites are an astronomer's nightmare, 1st observations reveal —Chinese astronauts make rocket fuel and oxygen in space using 1st-of-its-kind 'artificial photosynthesis' In July 2023, the rocket's predecessor, Zhuque-2, became the first methane-fueled rocket to reach LEO, beating the likes of SpaceX, which also uses methalox fuels in its gigantic Starship rocket but is yet to successfully get the spacecraft into a full orbital flight. China has now successfully launched four methane-powered rockets into space. Methane is a desirable fuel source for rockets because it is easier to store and burns cleaner than hydrogen or kerosene. It can also potentially be produced on other planets, such as Mars, which makes it ideal for solar system exploration.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Astronomer: Mystery light over Arizona likely from rocket
May 21 (UPI) -- A mysterious beam of light seen in the night sky over Arizona and neighboring states was likely caused by a Chinese rocket, an astronomer said. The light sparked speculation online when it was spotted in the sky on the night of May 16, with some hypothesizing it could be energized particles in the atmosphere causing a space weather phenomenon known as Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, or STEVE. Other theories included reflections from ice crystals in the atmosphere, meteor activity or even extraterrestrial intervention. Astronomer Tony Phillips wrote on that the light was most likely caused by a Chinese rocket launched about an hour before the reported U.S. sightings. He said the beam of light may have been from the rocket falling our of orbit or from the deployment of its satellites. "This plume was not an aurora, and it was not STEVE. We believe it is related to a rocket launch in China," Phillips wrote.
UPI
21-05-2025
- Science
- UPI
Astronomer: Mystery light over Arizona likely from rocket
May 21 (UPI) -- A mysterious beam of light seen in the night sky over Arizona and neighboring states was likely caused by a Chinese rocket, an astronomer said. The light sparked speculation online when it was spotted in the sky on the night of May 16, with some hypothesizing it could be energized particles in the atmosphere causing a space weather phenomenon known as Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, or STEVE. Other theories included reflections from ice crystals in the atmosphere, meteor activity or even extraterrestrial intervention. Astronomer Tony Phillips wrote on that the light was most likely caused by a Chinese rocket launched about an hour before the reported U.S. sightings. He said the beam of light may have been from the rocket falling our of orbit or from the deployment of its satellites. "This plume was not an aurora, and it was not STEVE. We believe it is related to a rocket launch in China," Phillips wrote.
Ammon
21-05-2025
- Science
- Ammon
Mystery as bright beam of light streaks through the skies over the US
Ammon News - Stargazers across the US have been baffled by a mysterious beam of light streaking through the sky. Around midnight on Saturday, May 17, a glowing streak was visible above the US as far south as New Mexico. With the aurora active after a surprise geomagnetic storm, many people initially thought the streak was STEVE - a white-mauve light emitted by rivers of charged particles. However, astronomers have now revealed the true explanation for this bizarre phenomenon. According to Dr Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer who tracks objects in space, the light was caused by a rocket dumping fuel. Just an hour or so before the light became visible, Chinese startup LandSpace Technology launched a methane and oxygen-fuelled Zhuque-2E Y2 rocket. Dr McDowell says the most likely source of the light was this rocket's second stage, releasing its 'Methalox' rocket fuel at about 155 miles (250km) above the ground. Once released into space, the chemicals in the fuel react with plasma in the Earth's ionosphere to create an eerie whitish glow, just like the one seen above the US. As the glowing streak appeared in the sky, many astronomers' first thought was that they were witnessing a rare space weather phenomenon called STEVE. Over the night of May 17, the Earth was experiencing a moderate (G2 class) geomagnetic storm after being hit by material from a solar eruption. The enormous 'bird wing' eruption had originally been predicted to miss Earth, but the wave of material was wider than expected, and the planet was hit with a glancing blow. Although STEVE is not part of the aurora, it is also caused by space weather and appears like a glowing river of whitish-mauve light in the sky. In a post on X, photographer Tyler Schlitt captured the event, writing: 'Just saw STEVE with my friends here in Southern Kansas is 45 minutes north of Greensburg!' However, it soon became apparent that this was no natural phenomenon. Writing on X, Dr McDowell said: 'TLEs confirm the Zhuque-2 upper stage passed over the US Four Corners area at 0525 UTC May 17 and is the source of the unusual luminous cloud seen by many observers.' The Zhuque-2 rocket was launched by LandSpace Technology from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Area in northwest China at 04:21 UTC. Daily Mail
