RuGlu6
12-10-2009, 04:25 AM
http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2009/09dec09/Jan-Petter1.jpg?PHPSESSID=u9vsc8hncb109ionlknlb27rc5&PHPSESSID=6l511kn1qatas1qb20ma55uur5
STRANGE LIGHTS OVER NORWAY: This morning in arctic Norway, onlookers were stunned when a gigantic luminous spiral formed in the northern sky. "We are used to seeing lots of auroras here in Norway, but this was different," says Nick Banbury of Harstad who witnessed the phenomenon on his way to work "between 7:50 and 8:00 a.m. local time." Onlooker Jan Petter Jorgensen took this photo:
http://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=09&month=12&year=2009
UPDATE: Circumstantial evidence is mounting that the phenomenon was caused by a malfunctioning rocket, possibly an ICBM launched from a Russian submarine. A Navtex no-fly alert was issued for the White Sea on Dec. 9th, and photographers appear to have recorded the initial boost phase of a launch below the spiral (see inset). A rocket motor spinning out of control could indeed explain the spiral pattern, so this explanation seems plausible, although it has not yet been confirmed.
STRANGE LIGHTS OVER NORWAY: This morning in arctic Norway, onlookers were stunned when a gigantic luminous spiral formed in the northern sky. "We are used to seeing lots of auroras here in Norway, but this was different," says Nick Banbury of Harstad who witnessed the phenomenon on his way to work "between 7:50 and 8:00 a.m. local time." Onlooker Jan Petter Jorgensen took this photo:
http://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=09&month=12&year=2009
UPDATE: Circumstantial evidence is mounting that the phenomenon was caused by a malfunctioning rocket, possibly an ICBM launched from a Russian submarine. A Navtex no-fly alert was issued for the White Sea on Dec. 9th, and photographers appear to have recorded the initial boost phase of a launch below the spiral (see inset). A rocket motor spinning out of control could indeed explain the spiral pattern, so this explanation seems plausible, although it has not yet been confirmed.