Mysterious swirl spotted in Peterborough sky believed to have been caused by rocket launch from Elon Musk's SpaceX

A mysterious swirl has been spotted in the skies above Peterborough on Monday night (March 24).

The unusual illuminated spiral has baffled many and was spotted across the UK and Europe for just a few minutes before fading away.

One of those fortunate enough to spot the phenomenon was Jamie Swallow (Jsphotos___) while out on a fishing lake.

He said: “Honestly I assumed a military aircraft, until it started giving that swirl I’ve never seen anything like it!”

He was provided the following pictures below.

The Met Office has moved to explain the occurrence and according of them, the spiral in the sky was likely caused by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

The Falcon 9 rocket was launched at Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on March 24.

The Met Office said: “The rocket's frozen exhaust plume appears to be spinning in the atmosphere and reflecting the sunlight, causing it to appear as a spiral in the sky.”

What is the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket?

The Falcon 9 is a reusable rocket, manufactured by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

After launching, the first part takes the payload, the object or equipment the rocket is carrying, into space.

This part of the rocket turns back around towards Earth, with the second stage of the rocket continuing to take the object to the correct orbit.

Once released, the second stage will eject any leftover fuel, which instantly freezes and forms into a spiral pattern because of the rocket's movement as it falls back to Earth.

Light reflects off the frozen fuel which makes it visible on Earth.