On the evening of Nov. 4 a bright, pinwheel-shaped glow appeared over parts of New England and was photographed by many, including Thomas Cocchiaro in Portsmouth, NH. Derrick Pitts of the Franklin Institute identified the phenomenon as a fuel dump from an Arianespace Ariane 6 booster launched from French Guiana. The high-altitude exhaust plume briefly reflected sunlight while it remained outside Earth’s shadow, then faded as it moved into darkness. The event was a rare but explainable skywatching spectacle.
Mystery Solved: 'Glowing Pinwheel' Over New England Was a Rocket Fuel Dump
On the evening of Nov. 4 a bright, pinwheel-shaped glow appeared over parts of New England and was photographed by many, including Thomas Cocchiaro in Portsmouth, NH. Derrick Pitts of the Franklin Institute identified the phenomenon as a fuel dump from an Arianespace Ariane 6 booster launched from French Guiana. The high-altitude exhaust plume briefly reflected sunlight while it remained outside Earth’s shadow, then faded as it moved into darkness. The event was a rare but explainable skywatching spectacle.
15:04, 06.11.2025Science
Mystery in the early evening sky
If you stepped outside shortly after dusk on Nov. 4, you may have noticed a nearly full moon, familiar stars — and an unexpected, bright pinwheel of light in the western sky. Dozens of witnesses across southern Maine and beyond photographed the vivid, windmilling shape and posted images asking what they had seen.
Local photographer captures the sight
Photographer Thomas Cocchiaro, at Pease Air National Guard Base in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, snapped the display at 6:01 p.m. while waiting to image Comet Lemmon. “As I looked out my window toward the west, I saw something I had never seen before — a windmilling cloud in the middle of the night sky,” Cocchiaro wrote. He nicknamed it a “space angel.” The glowing plume moved north rapidly and dissipated within minutes.
Expert explanation: a fuel dump from a rocket booster
Derrick Pitts, chief astronomer at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute, identified the phenomenon after viewing photos online: it was a fuel dump from a rocket booster. Pitts traced the event to a late-afternoon launch by Arianespace: the France-based company lifted an Ariane-class rocket from its launch site in French Guiana.
“It’s beautiful,” Pitts said after seeing images of the plume. “That pattern is exactly what we see when a booster jettisons excess propellant.”
When one of the Ariane 6 boosters released leftover propellant high above Earth, the expanding plume caught sunlight and formed the bright, pinwheel-like pattern. Because the exhaust cloud existed above Earth’s shadow (the night-side umbra), it could reflect sunlight and appear luminous to observers on the ground.
Why it appeared — and why it vanished
The geometry of sunlight and Earth’s shadow determines whether high-altitude plumes and satellites are visible. As the Northeast rotated farther away from the sun after dusk, the plume eventually fell into Earth’s shadow and disappeared from view. Had the fuel dump occurred later at night, observers in Maine and nearby states likely would not have seen it.
The same principle explains why objects such as the International Space Station or a string of Starlink satellites sometimes suddenly “wink out”: they lose direct sunlight as they pass into Earth’s night-side shadow.
A rare but explainable spectacle
Pitts noted that luminous exhaust plumes are more commonly seen near frequent launch sites such as Cape Canaveral, Florida; they are less familiar in Maine, which is why the Nov. 4 display drew so much curiosity. He called the plume “impressive” and said he hopes the sight — and the questions it provoked — inspires more people to learn about and watch the skies.
Practical tip: To spot satellites or learn about upcoming visible passes (including the ISS), use online trackers such as Heavens-Above or official space agency visibility tools.