Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Er, no, it's a Russian military satellite which created 'northern lights' effect




It was a sight that attracted the attention of space watchers the world over - but the lights which illuminated the night sky were not the result of a UFO, but rather the Russian military.

The Soyuz rocket, launched to carry a military communications satellite into orbit, created a spectacular light show as it passed over Ekaterinburg, the biggest city in Russia's Ural Mountains.

The eye-catching blue streaks were thought to be caused by moonlight shining through particles emitted by the rocket.



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Spectacular: The launch of the satellite produced an eye-catching blue light show over Ekaterinburg that witnesses likened to the northern lights

Blaze: The blaze of light lit up the night sky, causing some local residents to speculate that they were seeing a UFO

The stunning display was produced when the rocket's Fregat strap-on boosters separated from its upper stage, and dropped to the ground. Rockets can be made up of multiple sections, known as stages, each of which contain an engine and can be jettisoned when their fuel runs out.

Witnesses likened the phenomenon to the Aurora Borealis or northern lights, a natural light display that most often occurs in polar regions and is caused by the collision of charged particles directed by the Earth's magnetic field.

However, Ekaterinburg, which is on the same latitude as Glasgow, is too far south for such a natural display, meaning the light shining through the rocket's emissions is the likeliest explanation.



Some residents who did not know about the launch in advance thought they were seeing an alien spaceship.



In 2005, a Soyuz-Fregat launch also produced a light show, when the exhaust plume was illuminated by sunlight.

The rocket was launched from the Plesetsk space centre in the north of the country on Wednesday.

'A Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with a Fregat booster has successfully orbited a Meridian satellite,' Lt Col Alexei Zolotukhin told the official state news agency, RIA Novosti.

He added all systems were operating smoothly.

Going ... The burst of light started relatively low in the night sky

Going ... The satellite climbs higher into orbit