Mysterious white streak outshines aurora, and it didn’t come from space
An eerie white glow streaked through the night sky on May 17, outshining the northern lights. But unlike the aurora, the surprising bright light had Earthly origins.
A bright light from a recently launched rocket streaks over Crestone, Colorado, while the aurora glows over the horizon on May 18, 2025. (Mike Lewinski)
The northern lights appeared in the sky over the United States on May 17, and onlookers were stunned when a bright white light outshone the purple and pink glow of the aurora. The mysterious light was reported by people across the western U.S. from New Mexico to Idaho.
Turns out, it had Earthly origins. About an hour before the mysterious white streak appeared, China launched a rocket to deliver six satellites into space. The light is believed to have been from a rocket on the engine, or the spent rocket releasing leftover fuel before burning up in Earth's atmosphere.
The rocket-created light show reminded some stargazers of STEVE, an aurora-like light in the sky which shines as a narrow ribbon of color, as opposed to the aurora borealis which is usually a colorful glow over a broad area of the sky.
Mike Lewinski captured a time-lapse of the eerie light when it appeared over Crestone, Colorado, and was stunned by the sight. "The aurora was rippling low on the northern horizon when suddenly a bright streak of light, reminiscent of a rocket re-entry, appeared high in the sky and flowed down to the horizon," Lewinski told Spaceweather.com. The time-lapse also captured several airplanes and dozens of satellites flying overhead.
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