The Vortex [Explored]

During my Swiss International Air Lines flight from San Francisco to Zurich on 8th February 2024, I recorded a time lapse movie of the Aurora Borealis, when near Inukjuak, on the eastern shore of the Hudson Bay, a bright spot appeared near the northern horizon at 08:05 UTC.

 

First, I thought that it was part of the Aurora, but the spot quickly became much too bright to be a northern light. After about a minute the spot started dimming again and a minute later it was completely gone. I quickly checked my camera and was pleased to see that it had recorded the phenomenon near the left edge of the frame.

 

The spot looked like nothing I had ever seen before, which startled me quite a bit. With its bright center, surrounded by a blue, vortex-like structure, it reminded me of a wormhole from science fiction move and I almost expected to see a Klingon Bird-of-Prey materialize from it.

 

Of course, this did not happen. I was quite sure that the vortex had been produced by a rocket launch. After landing, I checked the Internet and found that SpaceX had successfully launched NASA's PACE satellite on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral at 06:33 UTC, 1h32min minutes before the vortex appeared in our sky. I therefore am convinced that the vortex has the same cause as a similar sighting in April 18, 2023. That spiral was caused by excess fuel that had been released from a SpaceX rocket launched from California.

 

When rockets, after second stage separation, vent fuel at high altitudes, that fuel turns into ice. As these extremely high altitude ice crystals are illuminated by sunlight, while the sky seen from the ground is still dark, they form a bright cloud, which often appears swirly.

 

EXIF

Canon EOS R, astro-modified

Sigma 28mm f/1.4 ART @ f/2

Observing platform: Boeing 770-300ER

5s @ ISO6400

Done