Rocket launch creates swirl of light over N.B., sparking curiosity and speculation

Jennifer Sweet · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 05, 2025 4:46 PM EST | Last Updated: November 5

The extremity of daylight clip is coinciding with immoderate absorbing sights successful the acheronian evening skies this week.

A fig of New Brunswickers said they witnessed a swirl-shaped unreality successful the occidental entity astatine astir 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Cellphone prime photos were posted from Riverview, Queens County and the northwestern portion of the province.

C.J. Bernard, an amateur astrophotographer successful the Tobique area, happened to beryllium retired taking pictures Tuesday nighttime of the “fire-in-the-sky” sunset implicit the St. John River, oregon Wolastoq, and of the afloat satellite rising.

After helium posted immoderate of his shots connected Facebook, helium noticed the hubbub online implicit the swirl, turned astir and definite capable helium could spot it close down him.

According to the European Space Agency, a rocket was launched from its spaceport successful French Guiana astatine 7:02 p.m. AT, carrying a outer for the Sentinel-1 mission, which provides radar imaginativeness for the Copernicus Earth reflection program.

The outer was placed successful orbit 34 minutes later, the bureau said successful a merchandise posted connected its website.

Bernard wrote a small blurb astir the rocket motorboat and shared immoderate of his ain photos, which person since been seen by hundreds of thousands of people. 

He chalks it up to being successful the close spot astatine the close time.

It utilized to beryllium that rocket launches lone happened successful the mediate of the day, said Bernard, but present they’re taking spot astir the clock, and successful this case, during what photographers notation to arsenic aureate hour. 

Bernard chalks it up to being successful the close spot astatine the close time. (Submitted by C.J. Bernard)

“When the booster came off, the mode the prima was setting, that airy was inactive up there, and it refracted.”

What New Brunswickers saw was similar a reflection from a bent mirror, helium explained. 

Nancy Colpitts besides got a representation of the rocket and posted it successful a assemblage radical for Wickham, successful the Washademoak country betwixt Fredericton and Saint John. 

“Apparently, the airy patterns are fuels burning disconnected arsenic it spirals successful orbit,” she wrote.

The swirl was disposable arsenic it moved northerly crossed the sky, she said.

“The spiral moved successful and retired of show arsenic it went though the clouds.”

Several different radical members replied that they’d besides seen it.

“You’ve got your conspiracy theorists going like, 'Oh, it's a UFO. It's this, it's that,'" said Bernard. “It wasn't Independence Day. I don't deliberation it was Will Smith coming down with E.T.”

WATCH | That representation became benignant of a viral trend,’ C.J. Bernard says:

Bernard has been pursuing upwind and astronomy since the crystal tempest of 1998 successful Ottawa. He loves the bluish lights and “anything successful the sky” and likes to stock accusation astir what helium sees.

He often shares connected the Facebook page, New Brunswick Storm and Weather Centre.

Tuesday was an exceptional night, helium said, with a afloat moon, a fiery sunset and a rocket successful the sky.

There’s plentifulness much to spot this month, according to Chris Curwin of Astronomy by the Bay.

That includes:

• Saturn's “beautiful” ringing system, which is disposable done a telescope.
• Jupiter and its 4 moons, which tin beryllium seen adjacent done binoculars.
• The Andromeda Galaxy.
• A treble clump of stars successful the constellation Perseus.
• The constellation Orion, which is present rising earlier successful the evening.
• The Orion Nebula, a “stellar nursery,” conscionable beneath the 3 stars that marque up Orion’s belt.
• The Pleiades prima cluster
• The Hyades prima cluster
• The moon
• The Geminid meteor shower, which comes up betwixt Nov. 19 and Dec. 24, peaking connected Dec. 13. 
• The aurora borealis, which volition beryllium disposable Thursday into Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration successful the U.S. forecasts.

Members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and the Saint John Astronomy Club are inviting the nationalist to Irving Nature Park connected Saturday to skygaze done telescopes and binoculars. Rain dates are Sunday oregon Monday, said Curwin.

One fascinating entity that volition not beryllium disposable unless you person a scope of astatine slightest 10 inches, helium said, is the comet 3I/ATLAS, which was spotted successful July.

The 3I stands for this comet being the 3rd interstellar entity that humans person known about. Interstellar means it originated extracurricular our star system. 

“There whitethorn person been galore more, but it's the 3rd 1 that we discovered,” said Curwin.

The archetypal 2 were 1I/Oumuamua successful 2017 and 2I/Borisovso  successful 2019.

ATLAS is the comparatively caller survey strategy by which the comet was spotted. 

“It scans the full nighttime entity aggregate times each nighttime … tracking near-Earth objects and providing america an beforehand informing successful lawsuit something's heading successful our direction,” said Curwin.

Curwin said 3I/ATLAS is antithetic for respective reasons. For 1 thing, it's not bound to the prima by its gravity.

For another, it’s velocity of astir 60 kilometres a 2nd is precocious for a comet.

And it’s giving disconnected an unusually precocious magnitude of c dioxide, comparative to water, helium said.

“It could beryllium arsenic aged arsenic our star system, really billions of years old.”

Curwin said 3I/ATLAS is besides providing fodder for conspiracy theorists, and the authorities shutdown successful the United States is not helping matters.

It’s affecting NASA, which arsenic a effect is not releasing overmuch information.

“People privation much facts. And if they can't get those facts and, you know, it's disconnected into, well, what is it really? And what are they not telling us?”

But Curwin said helium hasn’t seen thing to suggest it’s thing different than a comet.