Blue light snails appear in New Zealand sky, experts point to SpaceX release

Star viewers in New Zealand were shocked by the strange patterns of light in the sky on Sunday night. These images were widely shared on social media, with many New Zealanders comparing them to a kind of ‘wormhole’. But experts say the “strange clouds” were caused by a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the DM15 Global Star satellite.

This extraordinary sight was first captured by the inhabitants of the town of Nelson on the North Island of New Zealand, and is visible 750 km south of Stewart Island.

“Does anyone know if there’s a satellite or an Australian satellite orbiting New Zealand tonight? Justin Published by the New Zealand Astronomical Society.

“The photo you posted is an example of what I saw. I could not take a picture, I took out my penno and saw a satellite moving north at a considerable speed in the middle of a snail. “The user also said.

Users filled in the comments in the group. One user commented: “Yes, many of us have seen it from Hawks Bay, near the tail of the Great Canyon, and then moving northeast.”

Another said: “This is absolutely amazing.”

Richard Easter, a professor of physics at the University of Auckland, explained the cause of the event. Clouds like this sometimes form when a rocket launches a satellite into orbit, he said. Quiet.

“When the impulse is expelled from the rear, you basically have water and carbon dioxide, which briefly forms a cloud in the space illuminated by the sun,” Professor Easter said. “The geometry of the satellite’s orbit and the way we sit with the sun make this combination perfect for creating these completely different clouds visible from the South Island.”

The New Plymouth Astronomical Society said on Facebook that “it’s mostly ‘Fuel Dump’ or ‘Exhaust Bloom’ from the SpaceX Rocket Eve, and similar effects have been seen before.

According to Professor Easter, the rocket in question is the Falcon 9, which SpaceX used to launch a satellite into low Earth orbit on Sunday.

Elon Musk, President of SpaceX, congratulated the Falcon Group on its introduction. “Congratulations to the SpaceX Balkan team who completed 3 flawless launches in 2 days!” Said on Twitter.