Video shows 'mysterious' whirlpool spiral flying over Hawaii sky

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'Mysterious' flying spiral spotted by Hawaii's Subaru Telescope

A flying spiral was captured over Maunakea, Hawaii (Credit: NAOJ & Asahi Shimbun via Storyful)

A strange spiral was caught on video over Hawaii on Jan. 18. 

The official Twitter account of the Subaru Telescope on Maunakea, an optical-infrared telescope operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, guessed what the source of the phenomenon might be. 

"On Jan 18, 2023 (HST), the Subaru-Asahi Star Camera captured a mysterious flying spiral over Maunakea, Hawaii," it wrote. "The spiral seems to be related to the SpaceX company's launch of a new satellite."

A caption alongside the footage said SpaceX had launched a new satellite earlier in the day. 

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SpaceX had launched the Global Positioning Satellite III space vehicle 06 mission early that day (NAOJ and Asahi Shimbun via Storyful)

The Elon Musk-owned company livestreamed the Falcon 9 rocket launch of the Global Positioning Satellite III space vehicle 06 mission early that day. On the next day, SpaceX launched more than 50 Starlink satellites to orbit from California.

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The spiral moved quickly through the sky. (NAOJ and Asahi Shimbun via Storyful)

The video showed the blueish spiral passing over the Big Island telescope.

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The Subaru Telescope on Maunakea said the spiral was captured on Jan. 18 by the Subaru-Asahi Star Camera. (NAOJ and Asahi Shimbun via Storyful)

Space.com said earlier this month that this is far from the first time a similar feature was spotted after a SpaceX launch, with reports as far as New Zealand.