If you looked up at the sky last night around 9 p.m., you probably saw a strange blue spiral for a few minutes, before it finally faded away. This rather unusual phenomenon, which could be observed from France and other European countries, was actually caused by a Falcon 9 rocket, launched by SpaceX, Elon Musk's aerospace company.
A degassing on the return of the rocket
Yesterday, at At 1:50 PM local time in Florida, a Falcon 9 rocket took off on a U.S. government mission. And the unique thing about the Falcon 9, if you didn't already know, is that it's reusable. After launch, the first stage of the rocket begins its return to Earth, while the second stage continues its journey to bring the payload (probably a satellite) into orbit.
It’s therefore up to date. Because of the return of the first stage of the rocket towards Earth, a cloud in the shape of a blue spiral could be visible in the sky. Because when returning to Earth, the Space X launcher discharges its fuel. This, once released, instantly freezes due to the altitude and takes the form of a spiral due to the movement of the rocket as it begins its return to Earth. Ultimately, it was the light reflected by this frozen fuel that made this strange cloud visible from the ground.
Source: BBC
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