Blue ‘flying spiral’ captured by a telescope over Hawaii
An amazing blue spiral, spinning in a perfect “whirlpool”, was recently observed in the night sky Hawaii. But you don’t have to fear an alien invasion just yet.
The unearthly sight was captured by the Subaru telescope on top of white mountain on the Big Island of Hawaii. Shortly before 4:45 a.m. on January 18, a small blue dot was visible among a blanket of stars. The dot expanded rapidly until it formed into a spinning mass with bright blue light tendrils emerging from the center. It slowly disappeared over the course of about 15 minutes.
Scientists who help operate the telescope said the “mysterious vortex” was likely due to a SpaceX launch. “Earlier that day, SpaceX launched a satellite into orbit,” according to the telescope’s YouTube channel. “We think this phenomenon is related [to] its orbital deployment operation.
Hours earlier, SpaceX had launched a Falcon 9 GPS rocket across the country from the US Space Force station in Cape Canaveral, Florida. SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, has government contracts with the Space Force. According to Space. com, spirals have also been seen in the sky after other SpaceX launches. It may be because extra fuel is being drained from the craft.
The Subaru Telescope is jointly operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and the National Institutes of Natural Sciences. Because the top of Maunakea is above the clouds and there isn’t much light pollution on the Hawaiian Islands, scientists are able to capture remarkably clear images of space; Hawaii officials are allowing countries around the world to operate telescopes atop Maunakea. This week, both professional and amateur astronomers will be looking at a rare green comet go around the earth.
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