Glowing spiral mystery: Orb spotted twisting across UK skies

A strange glowing orb was seen spiralling through the night sky over parts of the UK this evening, leaving many residents baffled. Witnesses from Greater Manchester, Derbyshire, Lancashire, Staffordshire, and beyond took to social media to share their astonishment, with some describing the sighting as "beautiful."
Photos and videos posted online show a luminous circular object spinning through the darkness before gradually fading away. The mysterious sighting sparked curiosity and confusion, with social media flooded with questions from those who had witnessed the phenomenon.
"Anyone else just see this in the sky? It just kept spinning," wrote a resident from Ashton-under-Lyne. In Horwich, Bolton, another stunned observer remarked, "Anyone else seen this tonight? It was absolutely beautiful flying over Horwich."
The same glowing spiral was spotted in Bredbury, Stockport, where one local asked, "Did anyone else just see this swirling thing in the sky? It was spinning round and then went off into the distance." Meanwhile, a Denton, Tameside resident reported "Anyone seen the strange moving objects in the sky? 8pm. One bright thing with white misty rings around it. Moving slow for ages, then it completely disappeared."

While the sighting initially left many puzzled, it is believed to be linked to Monday's launch of a SpaceX US spy satellite, which aligns with similar reports in the past. A nearly identical spiral was seen over the US in 2023, later confirmed to be excess fuel ejected from a SpaceX rocket launched from California, The Mirror reported.
Just last week, residents in Ireland were also left puzzled by an "unusual object" in the sky for two consecutive nights. Over Dublin, two flashing objects were seen side by side on Wednesday, while a single flashing light appeared off the south coast the night before.
Alan O’Reilly from Carlow Weather shared footage on social media, saying: "I received two videos from followers showing an unusual object in the sky over the last two nights."
While some speculated that the sighting could be the International Space Station, others suggested it might be lanterns drifting through the sky.
However, with SpaceX launches known to create such eerie spirals, this latest spectacle likely has a more scientific explanation though for many skywatchers.