Nocturnal heavenly spectacle
Mysterious blue glow gives up puzzles
Updated on 25.03.2025 – 02:27 a.m.Reading time: 2 min.
Blue light illuminated the night sky over Hamburg. What witnesses initially considered a supernatural phenomenon should have a surprising origin.
A spectacular sky phenomenon illuminated the night sky over Hamburg and large parts of Germany on Monday evening. Around 9 p.m., numerous people in many federal states watched a mysterious blue light that spread in the sky in a spiral.
Sightings were also reported from other regions in Germany. In Bremen and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, observer described a rotating “funnel” that moved in the sky and disappeared with a light flash after a few minutes.
The police in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania received increased calls to concerned citizens. “People wanted to know what’s going on. Unfortunately, we couldn’t help,” said a spokesman for the “Bild” newspaper.
The explanation for the fascinating phenomenon is probably in space: in all likelihood it is the effects of a SpaceX rocket start, reports the “Bild” newspaper. The space company founded by Elon Musk had launched a Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral space station in Florida on Monday evening at 6.48 p.m. German. According to the “Bild” newspaper, the mission with the name NROL-69 is on a “secret orbit”.
The portal “Weather-unspage Germany” explained the scientific background on Facebook: “When starting a SpaceX rocket, the fuel had formed a cloud in space for a short time.” When the fuel is expelled, “a cloud of water and carbon dioxide is created, which is briefly illuminated by the sun in space”.
Similar phenomena have already been observed in the past, including in April 2023 over Alaska. At that time, a Falcon 9 rocket had to drain excess fuel a few hours after the start, which freezes to ice at great altitude and produces spectacular lighting effects in sunlight.
The unusual sky phenomenon was not only visible in Germany, but also in Austria and provided numerous speculations in social networks. A user on the platform X (formerly Twitter) asked: “What was that in the sky? The ISS was on the other side of the planet, I have already checked that.”
