On Monday evening, interesting images began to spread on Facebook. At 9 p.m., residents in Budapest and several other Hungarian cities witnessed an amazing “celestial phenomenon,” according to the Mandiner news portal.
The elongated, bluish light beam surprised many, and several initially suspected it was a meteor or an object of unknown origin. However, it later turned out that it was caused by a SpaceX rocket, writes Világgazdaság regarding the incident.
SpaceX launched another Falcon 9 rocket from the United States on March 24, carrying Starlink satellites into orbit. Following the launch, the rocket’s first stage separated and returned to the atmosphere in a controlled descent, during which the combination of engine fires and contrails during reentry created spectacular, spiral-like light patterns.
Due to the appropriate weather conditions, the light plume was clearly visible from several points in Central Europe, so many people in Hungary also noticed it.
I see this last night from Hungary – Europe. 
This is a spaceX rocket? @elonmusk @SpaceX pic.twitter.com/atSi2VK158
— Lengyel Dávid (@davx2142) March 25, 2025However, people over in the U.K. enjoyed the spectacle as well.
Yes, these are real pictures of the night sky taken from Warminster in Wiltshire last night!
This spiral phenomenon seen all over the UK is believed to be caused by one of Elon Musk's SpaceX rockets launched in Florida yesterday.
The rocket's track came across the UK and Europe… pic.twitter.com/hwx53F4XyW
— ITV News West Country (@itvwestcountry) March 25, 2025
