The bright blue and white swirl like shape was spotted across Bolton and Bury, with many taking to social media to share their pictures and ask what they were seeing?
And many contacted The Met Office to ask if their experts knew what the celestial wonder was.
(Image: Wes McArdle)
A spokesman for The Met Office said: “We’ve received many reports of an illuminated swirl in the sky.
“This is likely to be caused by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched earlier today. 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.”
This picture was taken by Wes McArdle in Harwood.
(Image: Wes McArdle) READ MORE: The moon halo spotted in the sky
He said: “Watched this fly over Harwood towards Bury, bright light around it and moving slowly, any ideas, Two satellites past either side of it as well.”
On Facebook’s Spotted Radcliffe Page, somebody else posted: “Has anyone else just seen this over Radcliffe in the sky because me and the kids are freaked out
“What have we just seen??? It was moving and then faded away after about 2mins and there were other small what looked like stars moving around it too.”
