Did you see that spiral-shaped light in the sky last night?
No, it wasn’t part of the Perseid meteor shower, which also peaked overnight on Aug. 12. The surreal, squiggly glow appears to have been caused by a European rocket that launched Tuesday evening.
The light was visible for at least a few minutes in parts of Canada and the United States, including in Milwaukee.
Here’s what we know about that light in the sky and what caused it:
What was the light in the sky over Wisconsin on Tuesday night?
The spiral glow was likely caused by the deorbit, or return to Earth, of Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket, according to an X post by astronomer Jonathan McDowell.
Ariane 6 launched at 9:37 p.m. local time on Aug. 12 from Kourou, French Guiana, per Arianespace, the French company behind the rocket. The rocket’s purpose was to place one of Europe’s newest weather satellites into orbit.
After releasing the satellite, Ariane 6 was heading back down to Earth for reentry over the Indian Ocean at around 10:35 ET Aug. 12, McDowell wrote on X.
In the process, it left behind a trail of unburn propellant, which caused that corkscrew-shaped light that people in Milwaukee and other parts of the eastern U.S. and Canada spotted.
See pictures and videos of Ariane 6 deorbit
Here are some pictures and videos sky watchers across the country captured of the Ariana 6 deorbit:
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What was that spiral of light in the sky over Wisconsin on Tuesday night?
Reporting by Maia Pandey, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
