A camera atop Hawaii’s tallest mountain has captured what appears to be a swirling spiral in the night sky.
Researchers believe the strange phenomenon is related to a military GPS satellite launched from a SpaceX rocket in Florida.
The images were taken on January 18 with a camera atop Mauna Kea, outside Japan’s Subaru Telescope National Astronomical Observatory.
The time-lapse video shows the white ball spreading out and forming a vortex as it moves across the sky. Then it fades and disappears.
Ichi Tanaka, a researcher at the observatory, said he was doing other work that night and didn’t see it right away. Then a stargazer watching the camera’s live feed on YouTube sent a screenshot of the spiral using the online messaging platform.
“When I opened Slack, this is what I saw and it was a great event for me,” said Tanaka. He saw a similar vortex last April, also after the SpaceX launch, but it was bigger and dimmer.
SpaceX launched a military satellite on the morning of January 18 from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The location of the helix matches the expected second stage of the SpaceX rocket after launch.
SpaceX did not respond to emails seeking comment.
Tanaka said the observatory had installed a camera to observe the surroundings outside the Subaru Telescope and shared an image of Mauna Kea’s clear sky. He said someone observing the sky in less clear conditions, say from Tokyo, might not see the slug.
The live broadcasts are run in partnership with the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, and often attract hundreds of viewers. Some people tune in to watch meteors.
The Mauna Kea Summit has several The best viewing conditions on Earth for astronomy, making it a favorite spot for the world’s most advanced observatories. top too It is considered sacred by many native Hawaiianswho saw it as the abode of the gods.
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