Met Office issues new explanation after 'spinning' orb lights up sky across UK (2025)

People questioned whether the spiral anomaly was a UFO

The Met Office has issued an explanation after a bizarre 'spinning' orb was seen lighting up the night sky across the UK on Monday (March 24).

People questioned whether the spiral anomaly was a UFO and were left baffled, claiming their 'kids were freaked out' after spotting it out of their windows and overhead.

Pictures and videos shared online showed the bright light which was seen to be 'spinning' across the night sky. The beam was noticed by people who took to X and Facebook to question what it was.

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Social media was awash with posts about the strange circular light which shone across Greater Manchester, Derbyshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Staffordshire and other parts of the UK, including in the south.

But concerns about an alien invasion were quickly squashed after the Met Office issued a statement, explaining the reason for the phenomenon.

A post shared by the Met Office on Monday night read: "We've received many reports of an illuminated swirl in the sky this evening. This is likely to be caused by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched earlier today.

"The rocket's frozen exhaust plume appears to be spinning in the atmosphere and reflecting the sunlight, causing it to appear as a spiral in the sky."

A Falcon 9 rocket rose off a pad at Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station shortly after 1.45pm on the NROL-69 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

A similar phenomenon was witnessed in 2023 when a similar spiral was spotted over parts of the USA, which had been caused by excess fuel being released from a SpaceX rocket that launched from California hours earlier.

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