Norwegian spiral

Before sunrise on December 9, 2009, people across northern Norway saw a blue-white light rise from behind the mountains, stop, and begin to spin. A glowing spiral grew outward and dissolved into a black hole-like disc. Photos and video went worldwide within hours. Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell quickly suggested a failed Russian missile, and Moscow confirmed a Bulava test failure.

Explanation

A failed test of a Russian RSM-56 Bulava submarine-launched missile from the White Sea: the third stage malfunctioned, and the spinning missile sprayed fuel in a spiral lit by the Sun. The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed the failure the next day.

What was seen

Shape: Blue beam with an expanding white spiral
Witnesses: Thousands across northern Norway and Sweden
Duration: About 10 minutes

Browse

• Norway
• 2000s
• Identified
• Photo and video cases
• Official government documents
• Many independent witnesses
• Photographs
• Video footage
• Lights and fireballs

Similar cases

• The spiral over eastern Australia — Falcon 9’s first flight 5 June 2010
• The “mystery missile” off Los Angeles — an airliner’s contrail 8 November 2010
• El Bosque Air Base — the object in the air-show video 5 November 2010
• Collahuasi mine — CEFAA’s “UFO” photographs 15 April 2013