Strange 'Norway spiral' likely an out-of-control missile

[n2doc]

00:38 10 December 2009 by Maggie McKee

It looked like a time-travelling vortex fit for Doctor Who, but a strange spiral observed in the skies above Norway on Wednesday morning was actually a failed Russian missile launch, says a Harvard astrophysicist who monitors space launches.

The giant, glowing white spiral was reportedly visible all over northern Norway between about 0645 and 0700 GMT. "It consisted initially of a green beam of light similar in colour to the aurora with a mysterious rotating spiral at one end," eye witness Nick Banbury of Harstad said, according to Spaceweather.com. "This spiral then got bigger and bigger until it turned into a huge halo in the sky with the green beam extending down to Earth."

Speculation that it was a bright meteor was quickly dismissed – in part because the apparition lasted for too long to be an incoming space rock. Suspicion then turned to an out-of-control missile.

That is exactly what it was, says Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and author of Jonathan's Space Report, a fortnightly email newsletter about space launches. "It's definitely a missile launch failure," he told New Scientist.


more with video

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18262-strange-norway-spiral-likely-an-outofcontrol-missile.html

[riverwalker]

1. the day before the President arrives in Norway

the Russians launch a missle.
Seems odd timing.:tinfoilhat:

[Orrex]

2. Well...

They probably launch missiles all the time.

This one happened to go a little wonky. :tinfoilhat:

[eppur_se_muova]

3. ZOMG! When I saw a pic of that my first thought was this missle "launch" ...

[cowcommander]

4. Here's a good 3D simulation of what probably happened

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx8i5EfmYU4