• SineIraEtStudio@midwest.social
    15·
    9 days ago

    The spiral was created after the rocket’s first-stage booster, which blasted it off the ground, separated and the upper stage took over, he said.

    As the booster fell back to Earth, it vented leftover fuel, which froze into reflective crystals.

    “These crystals caught the sunlight, creating the bright spiral pattern in the sky,” O’Donoghue said.

    “The spiral shape happened because the tumbling rocket was spinning as it released the fuel.”

    Source:

    https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20250325-spacex-rocket-fuel-makes-stunning-swirl-in-european-sky

    • threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      5·
      8 days ago

      The spiral was created after the rocket’s first-stage booster, which blasted it off the ground, separated and the upper stage took over, he said. As the booster fell back to Earth, it vented leftover fuel, which froze into reflective crystals.

      That’s only partially correct. The booster never would have come anywhere near Europe. The venting which created the spiral would have been from passivating the upper stage after the payload was deployed.

      @aeternum@lemmy.blahaj.zone