A stunning blue and white spiral spotted in skies across Europe late Monday was created by frozen fuel tumbling from a SpaceX rocket, according to weather forecasters and scientists.

The UK's Met Office said on X it had received many reports of an "illuminated swirl" in the sky on Monday evening likely caused by a rocket that had blasted off earlier from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

Originally published on doc.afp.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.