The mystery began when a blue light seemed to soar up from behind a mountain in the north of the country. It stopped mid-air, then began to move in circles. Within seconds a giant spiral had covered the entire sky. Then a green-blue beam of light shot out from its centre – lasting for ten to 12 minutes before disappearing completely.
Onlookers describing it as ‘like a big fireball that went around, with a great light around it’ and ‘a shooting star that spun around and around’.
The Norwegian Meteorological Institute was flooded with telephone calls after the light storm.
There has got to be a logical explanation: Residents hailing a masked superhero, perhaps? A Spirograph Photoshopped into the sky? Imminent alien invasion? Well, the various independent photos and videos coming in confirm it’s not a fake. Scientists have said it’s not the Northern Lights, although it is in the north and it is a light. One Norwegian astronomer quoted by the Daily Mail opined that at first he thought it was a “fireball meteor,” but it went on too long. The reason behind the show is probably man-made.
More than likely say experts, it was a Russian missile. While the Russian Defense Ministry would not comment, the circumstantial evidence is mounting that this is what a spiraling rocket jettisoning fuel looks like. And it sure is pretty.
UPDATE
New evidence emerged today that a mysterious spiral light display which appeared in the dark skies over Norway yesterday morning was caused by an embarrassing failed test launch of a jinxed Russian missile.
The Bulava missile was test-fired from the Dmitry Donskoi submarine in the White Sea early on Wednesday but failed at the third stage, the Russian military confirmed today.