What's this strange spiral of light in the night sky: aliens or SpaceX?

There is a blue spiral of light in the sky.

We know by now that it's not aliens, even if we wanted it to be.

The phenomenon captured over Rakiura in New Zealand on Sunday still had people scratching their heads.

After Burns received a text from a friend who spotted something in the sky, he took a picture.

What the heck. Credit: Alasdair Burns/ Twinkle Dark Sky Tours

There was a blue spiral.

Professor Easther told the Guardian that it was most likely a cloud formed by a rocket carrying a satellite into space, which was the last mission of the spaceflight company.

The internet satellites were launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was a military satellite from California. On Sunday, it was a communications satellite for Globalstar, which was launched by a Falcon 9 rocket.

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That is a lot.

Easther thinks the Globalstar mission is connected to the spiral image taken by Burns.

He told the news outlet that when the propellant is ejected out the back, there is water and carbon dioxide that forms a cloud in space.

The geometry of the satellite, as well as the way we are sitting relative to the sun, was just right to produce these crazy looking clouds that were visible from the South Island.

There is a fairly run-of-the-mill explanation in the end.