Mysterious spiral of light over northern Norway

[Pie™]

I'm just cross-posting this with my thread at SomethingAwful, since I think it's fascinating and exciting:

The original thread can be found here

Some back-story:
I live in Tromsø, which is a rather small town in the north of Norway. About an hour and a half ago this morning, at 07:45, I was awoken by my flatmate raving on about something "you just have to see!". Dizzy and confused I walked to the door, and peeking out at the sky I saw one of the most spectacular things I've ever been witness to. Now keep in mind that this far north, we barely have any sunlight at all this time of year, so it was still pitch dark outside. There was a spiral of light in the sky, expanding like some kind of green laser.
Now, in my town we see the Aurora Borealis every winter, so green lights in the sky is not a new phenomenon. Never the less, in my 20 years here I've never seen anything like this, and for a second I thought it looked like a huge explosion in the distance.
We returned inside with much speculation as to what this could be, and I scoured the internet for explanations. Now, at 09:00 the phenomenon has started popping up in articles on local northern news-sites, and appears to just have gone national.

From the article, loosely translated:

A mysterious phenomenen of light on the nightsky shocked citizens of northern and mid-Norway on wednesday morning....

...It spun around and exploded in the sky...

...It looked like it came over a mountain. First it followed a path, until it disintegrated. Then it suddenly became a huge sphere, so large that it covered the entire sky.

Meteorologists in Tromsø have no idea what caused the light:

"We don't know what it is. I don't want to assume anything about it, but it appears to have been very spectacular"

"People describe the moving light as overwhelming, extremely beautiful, and partially frightening. They describe it as a new years rocket that looks like a spinning spiral."

The phenomenon lasted for a few minutes, just before eight on Wednesday morning. The meteorologist says the light apparently has come from the east.

Some photos of the incident (not mine):








I've also read experts saying that this has nothing to do with the Aurora Borealis, and that it might have been a failed rocket launching in Russia. Has anyone else here seen anything like it, and can someone possibly shed some light (hurr) on what might have caused this?


A video has been uploaded by one of the nation's leading newspapers.

[leXX]

Looking at those photos I would say it does look like a failed rocket lauch. In the top photo you can see the lauch point, and it seems to have spiraled out of control due a failed thruster or something. Very impressive images though.

[BongoBob]

Looks pretty f***in cool whatever it is.

So Pie, got a crowbar handy for when the Combine drop through?

[Pho3nix]

Better start preparing for 2012!

[jon_hill987]

Swamp gas from a weather balloon was trapped in a thermal pocket and reflected the light from Venus.

[MrWally]

Aliens.

[Sabretooth]

Viral Marketing for Half-Life 2: Episode Three.

[Taos]

Those Russians better not be launching at my homeland!

[Kjølen]

It's either Samus or Sonic the Hedgehog.

[IG-64]

That looks incredible. Seriously, what the hell is that?
Glad you got to see it.

[TiE23]

Rocket spinning out of control with a fuel leak?

YouTube Video

YouTube Video

Also, this is totally ****ing cool.

[Det. Bart Lasiter]

pie instead of pictures of the sky please post pictures of you dressed as skwisgaar from metalocalypse

[IG-64]

They should make another one that does the exact same thing just for the hell of it.

[CapNColostomy]

Whatever it is, it's very festive and Christmas-y. Just in time for the holidays?

[Samuel Dravis]

Apparently it's an RSM-56 Bulava ICBM test that failed. A test warning was sent out today, so that seems to be the likely explanation.

[Anthony]

Russian fireworks for the christmas season

[TiE23]

Originally Posted by Det. Bart Lasiter

pie instead of pictures of the sky please post pictures of you dressed as skwisgaar from metalocalypse

Skwisgaar is Swedish, Toki is Norwegian. : P

[Det. Bart Lasiter]

Originally Posted by TiE23

Skwisgaar is Swedish, Toki is Norwegian. : P

it's the same thing plus pie looks like skwisgaar

[Q]

Originally Posted by Samuel Dravis

Apparently it's an RSM-56 Bulava ICBM test that failed. A test warning was sent out today, so that seems to be the likely explanation.

Good. I was afraid that Zod had just escaped from the Phantom Zone.

[IG-64]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...in-a-spin.html

Now it's international.

[MrWally]

Digg tells me that the LHC hit record energy levels last night of 2.36 TeV collisions.


Clearly the correlation is indisputable.

[Pie™]

Originally Posted by IG-64

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...in-a-spin.html

Now it's international.

I actually think I was the first to break this internationally, since the GBS-thread now has more than 140 000 viewers.

and guys all scandinavians dont look the same, thats racist

[Det. Bart Lasiter]

YouTube Video

now that i think about it you post in gbs so you aren't at skwisgaar levels of metal

[Pie™]

I beg to differ.



I don't tend to say "dildos" a lot though.


Now will you excuse me, I have a neckbeard to grow.

also come back when you have met Abbath

[IG-64]

Actually there you look like a strange mix between Elijah Wood and Eminem, which I have helpfully provided reference for:

[Pie™]

i ain't no hobbit rapper

[Det. Bart Lasiter]

Originally Posted by Pie™

I beg to differ.



I don't tend to say "dildos" a lot though.


Now will you excuse me, I have a neckbeard to grow.

also come back when you have met Abbath

yeah, whatevs, come back when you're in a jazz ensemble with a dude who plays death metal on his mother****in' tenor saxophone, brotini. i'm literally so metal i've sweep picked a charlie parker song

also get a gibson explorer, even if you can't play it it will make the look

[Darth Avlectus]

I guess it has been solved now. However

Originally Posted by Pie™

There was a spiral of light in the sky, expanding like some kind of green laser.
Now, in my town we see the Aurora Borealis every winter, so green lights in the sky is not a new phenomenon. Never the less, in my 20 years here I've never seen anything like this, and for a second I thought it looked like a huge explosion in the distance.

I thought it might have been a specular phenomena of the upper atmosphere using a high power argon/krypton laser. Be it malfunction of communicaitons/scan or perhaps someone cloud-writing/experimenting.

Aurora Borealis was a close second in my guess.

But I guess not afterall. :'( Still must've been pretty nice to behold in person.

[Pho3nix]

Originally Posted by Det. Bart Lasiter

[Pie™]

[Sabretooth]

[Det. Bart Lasiter]

Originally Posted by Pho3nix

Originally Posted by Pie™

lookit you two scrublords, yall aint even with it

Originally Posted by Sabretooth

like this man clearly is

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Sabretooth

why did that make me laugh so hard?!

[TiE23]

Originally Posted by IG-64

Actually there you look like a strange mix between Elijah Wood and Eminem, which I have helpfully provided reference for:

Bruuutal.

[CapNColostomy]

Originally Posted by Pie™

I beg to differ.



I don't tend to say "dildos" a lot though.


Now will you excuse me, I have a neckbeard to grow.

also come back when you have met Abbath