Strange spiral in the sky in Norway

[seepy83]

We've launched rockets for about a hundred years of various types, including literally hundreds of thousands during the past 60 years or so, and I've *NEVER* seen any images remotely similar to this.

True. And I'm not saying that it is or isn't a rocket, because I have no idea. But, just to play devil's advocate, cameras/video cameras have never been as prevalent throughout the world like they are today. Today, everyone with a cell phone has one. Pretty much everyone you know has a digital camera. And pictures/videos spread so unbelievably fast due to the Internet. My assumption, if this was a Rocket, is that it has happened many times in the past but never could be documented so well as it could today.

 

[Arkaign]

True. And I'm not saying that it is or isn't a rocket, because I have no idea. But, just to play devil's advocate, cameras/video cameras have never been as prevalent throughout the world like they are today. Today, everyone with a cell phone has one. Pretty much everyone you know has a digital camera. And pictures/videos spread so unbelievably fast due to the Internet. My assumption, if this was a Rocket, is that it has happened many times in the past but never could be documented so well as it could today.

That's a good point, I also forgot to take into account the extreme northern latitude of the area in question, which may cause some oddities of light and perspective in occurrences high in the sky like that.

 

[Rubycon]

What about a more pronounced Coriolis force at higher latitudes make this event more likely than say more populated areas well below the arctic circle?

 

[arcenite]

What about a more pronounced Coriolis force at higher latitudes make this event more likely than say more populated areas well below the arctic circle?

What about it? Why don't you tell us?

 

[Q]

bump for reposters

 

[PieIsAwesome]

Most likely:

It is a rocket spinning about an axis parallel to the length of the fuselage and through (or near) its center with a a fuel leak in the side. The green is from the engine exhaust and the spirally-ness is from the fuel coming out of the side of the rocket rotating about the described axis.

The big images are time lapse photos showing the whole event, it didn't actually look like that.

 

[PJABBER]

Most likely:

It is a rocket spinning about an axis parallel to the length of the fuselage and through (or near) its center with a a fuel leak in the side. The green is from the engine exhaust and the spirally-ness is from the fuel coming out of the side of the rocket rotating about the described axis.

The big images are time lapse photos showing the whole event, it didn't actually look like that.

It takes time for the dissipation to occur at altitude but then it can happen pretty fast.

http://gizmodo.com/5422792/this-is-how-the-mysterious-giant-spiral-happened

 

[BoomerD]

It's obviously a Blu-Ray player gone bad...maybe communicating with the mothership.

 

[gsellis]

Sorry for all the hubbub. Part of my guide coil set on my scalar resonace generator was unplugged. This was supposed to be over Cleveland. I was trying to get a change in the jet stream so we could get some snow down here. Will try better next time.




I saw a simulation on a guidance failure for a rocket that really did match. The blue contrail does match a side breached solid fuel rocket too.

 

[Iron Woode]

"the wheel in the sky keeps on turning
I don�t know where I�ll be tomorrow"

 

[DrunkenSano]

Why didn't any of the local astronomers point their telescope towards the phenomenon to get a better picture of what it is?

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Your Star Trek Nerd Math fails.

I wasn't referencing Nero from Star Trek, I was referencing Nero from Roman times.

 

[Kaido]

Russians admitted it was a missile:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34362960/ns/technology_and_science-space/

 

[Kaido]

"It has been established ... that the missile's first two stages worked as normal, but there was a technical malfunction at the next, third, stage of the trajectory," a Defense Ministry spokesman said.

Also:

"This is a catastrophe ... Huge funds were siphoned off from Russia's moribund navy for the Bulava project. In fact, billions of dollars have been flushed down the drain," said Alexander Khramchikhin, chief analyst at the Moscow-based Institute of Military and Political Analysis.

:awe:

 

[FelixDeCat]

Russians admitted it was a missile:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34362960/ns/technology_and_science-space/

First the Russians deny it, then they accept responsibility? This is a coverup for project Bluebleam.

 

[AeroEngy]

Russians admitted it was a missile:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34362960/ns/technology_and_science-space/

The Bulava rocket is suppose to have 3 solid rocket motor stages. It is very strange for a solid rocket motor to be venting from the side like it appears to be doing in the video.

Solid motors generally just fail catastrophically into a big fireball when the case is breached. There are 1000s of psi of hot gas inside the thin walled pressure vessel filled with 1000s of lbs of propellant. You poke a hole in the case and it rips itself apart and the unburned propellant all starts to burn. However, there are other sources of stuff that could be venting depending on the design. ACS thruster propellant, hydraulic fluid, etc.

 

[gsellis]

Solid motors generally just fail catastrophically into a big fireball when the case is breached. There are 1000s of psi of hot gas inside the thin walled pressure vessel filled with 1000s of lbs of propellant. You poke a hole in the case and it rips itself apart and the unburned propellant all starts to burn. However, there are other sources of stuff that could be venting depending on the design. ACS thruster propellant, hydraulic fluid, etc.

More common with large scale that it does not explode than you suggest. Seal failure. Example - STS-51.

 

[guyver01]

doesnt anyone see what seems to be a stream of smoke leading to the center of the rings in the video? almost like a rocket trail....

cool regardless

WINNAR

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091210/sc_afp/russianorwaymilitarymissile

Describing the latest failure of the Bulava as a major embarrassment for the military, leading Russian defence analyst Pavel Felgenhauer said the images were consistent with a missile failure.

"Such lights and clouds appear from time to time when a missile fails in the upper layers of the atmosphere and have been reported before," he told AFP.

 

[AeroEngy]

More common with large scale that it does not explode than you suggest. Seal failure. Example - STS-51.

That may be true for very large segmented solid rocket motors to have a potential to vent sideways out of a joint. However, I doubt that the Bulava has segmented motors. The segmentation and addition structural joints required just add weight and serve no purpose in a motor of that size. The rocket is only 40 feet long and 6.6 feet wide with 3 stages. So the largest stage might be 25ish feet long ... no need for segments. Plus it looks like it is venting from one of the upper stages which would be even smaller.

If they are putting segments on motors of that size then they fail are designing rockets.

 

[darkxshade]

A weather balloon would've made more sense

 

[DanTMWTMP]

As someone else has stated. Ya, missile failure. Here's a sim on what happened.

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

 

[Lifted]

Best time for a NATO strike against Russian is now!!! WTF are we waiting for? Obama is such a pussy... we need Bush.

 

[destrekor]

That may be true for very large segmented solid rocket motors to have a potential to vent sideways out of a joint. However, I doubt that the Bulava has segmented motors. The segmentation and addition structural joints required just add weight and serve no purpose in a motor of that size. The rocket is only 40 feet long and 6.6 feet wide with 3 stages. So the largest stage might be 25ish feet long ... no need for segments. Plus it looks like it is venting from one of the upper stages which would be even smaller.

If they are putting segments on motors of that size then they fail are designing rockets.

:ahem:
Russia

 

[Schadenfroh]

Anyone able to enhance the image to make the craft that came out of the portal visible?

/pats half-life crowbar

 

[destrekor]

Anyone able to enhance the image to make the craft that came out of the portal visible?

/pats half-life crowbar

enhance!
wait, zoom.
ENHANCE!