Originally published at: Vidoe: "Mysterious" shimmering spiral flying over Hawaii | Boing Boing
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Dr. Strange is at it again.
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Ok, so the footage is sped up, making it look weirder than it was, but I still don’t get how the rocket is creating that kind of spiral (when seen from that position), where the whole spiral is moving laterally like that… wild.
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I grew up seeing these displays here in L.A. where launches from Vandenberg afb we’re common. I can totally see someone thinking they were over the top crazy phenomenon because they can be such dramatic, otherworldly, and beautiful events.
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You never know. It could just be Ned.
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It’s a sign. We’re circling the drain.
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The second stage is travelling at just below orbital velocity so it is moving across the sky at a fair clip - at least until it re-enters and burns up. During its last few minutes, vents blow open to empty the tanks which reduces the risk of an explosion before the rocket is deep in the atmosphere. This outgassing makes it spin and the vapour trails form the spiral.
Not sure why the word ‘mysterious’ was ever used as these events have been regularly photographed over the years. Beautiful certainly, mysterious not so much.
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It’s mysterious because it’s a vidoe
(No idea why BBS headline differs from post headline.)
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Weirdly, I want that shirt.
Or maybe strangely.
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Well that was a waste
I find is amazing and heartening, how mundane these space launches have become.
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I guess I was imagining (for some reason) that it was lower in the sky than it is, and that the venting was coming from the sides of the rocket as it moved towards the camera. But yes, that makes sense.
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“I summon the Seven Rings of Raggadorr!”
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Play at 1/4 speed to get pretty close to real time
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My understanding is that the BBS post is created automagically from the main site submission. However, if the main site post/headline is subsequently updated, the BBS post is not similarly changed.
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there’s definitely something strange when it’s an orange surfboard and not silver…
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It’s not a surfboard, it’s the Librarian. Ook!
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vidoe or it never happened 
( see! i can stay on topic )
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