Did anyone see a rocket launch this evening?

Tom_ed1987

Tom_ed1987

Tom_ed1987

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Warwickshire
At pretty much exactly 6:30 pm this evening, southern UK, clear skies.
Bright light low down to the East, looked like the moon obscured by cloud.
Got dimmer, travelled across the sky in like a big corona/swirly looking thing, then turned into a dot and disappeared

Coolest thing i've ever seen in the sky.
Aliens not ruled out.
 
Tom_ed1987 said:
At pretty much exactly 6:30 pm this evening, southern UK, clear skies.
Bright light low down to the East, looked like the moon obscured by cloud.
Got dimmer, travelled across the sky in like a big corona/swirly looking thing, then turned into a dot and disappeared

Coolest thing i've ever seen in the sky.
Aliens not ruled out.
Click to expand...
A space station is currently being constructed in Unst, the UK's northern most inhabited isle and launches are due as early as 2026.
 
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no but I keep hearing them now bonfire night is approaching

chatgpt claims it was a spacex launch btw but you probably just saw something burn up

  • The launch time is listed as 12:35 p.m. EDT / 16:35 UTC (i.e. afternoon in the USA) — well before UK evening. Spaceflight Now+1
  • By 6:30 pm UK time, the rocket would be long past visible from lower orbits, possibly already disposed of or too faint.
  • But the visible effect could be from upper‑stage exhaust / fuel dumps / deorbit burns high in the atmosphere, which can persist and be illuminated after sunset.
  • Also, for the UK, the geometry has to be perfect: the sunlight angle, altitude of the plume, and direction relative to observer all matter for the effect to be visible.
 
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