Swirl in the sky? Ariane 6 rocket launch seen over Massachusetts

Multiple people in Massachusetts reported seeing a swirl in the sky Tuesday evening.It was likely from the launch of an Ariane 6 rocket by the European Space Agency, which blasted off shortly after 4 p.m., according to StormTeam 5 meteorologist Mike Wankum. “What happens is they travel in the upper atmosphere and they release excess fuel. Once that fuel hits the upper atmosphere, it freezes, makes ice crystals up there. And so you get the swirl that happens,” Wankum said. “Everything has to be just right to see it. But that’s what you’re looking at,” he added.The Ariane 6 is a heavy-lift rocket that launches from Kourou, French Guiana. It carried the Sentinel-1D Earth-observation satellite into orbit.

WORCESTER, Mass. —

Multiple people in Massachusetts reported seeing a swirl in the sky Tuesday evening.

It was likely from the launch of an Ariane 6 rocket by the European Space Agency, which blasted off shortly after 4 p.m., according to StormTeam 5 meteorologist Mike Wankum.

“What happens is they travel in the upper atmosphere and they release excess fuel. Once that fuel hits the upper atmosphere, it freezes, makes ice crystals up there. And so you get the swirl that happens,” Wankum said.

“Everything has to be just right to see it. But that’s what you’re looking at,” he added.

The Ariane 6 is a heavy-lift rocket that launches from Kourou, French Guiana. It carried the Sentinel-1D Earth-observation satellite into orbit.