spacex火箭发射成功（空中美景效果怎么样英语英闻独家摘选：SpaceX火箭发射后，夜空惊现「神秘螺旋」震撼美景)

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Rocket science: Alaska sky spiral caused by SpaceX fuel dump

Northern lights enthusiasts got a surprise mixed in with the green bands of light dancing in the Alaska skies: A light baby blue spiral resembling a galaxy appeared amid the aurora for a few minutes.

The cause early Saturday morning was a little more mundane than an alien invasion or the appearance of a portal to the far reaches of the universe. It was simply excess fuel released from a SpaceX rocket that launched from California about three hours earlier.

Sometimes rockets have fuel that needs to be jettisoned, said space physicist Don Hampton, a research associate professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute.

“When they do that at high altitudes, that fuel turns into ice,” he said. “And if it happens to be in the sunlight, when you’re in the darkness on the ground, you can see it as a sort of big cloud, and sometimes it’s swirly.”

While not a common sight, Hampton said he’s seen such occurrences about three times.

The appearance of the swirl was caught in time-lapse on the Geophysical Institute’s all-sky camera and shared widely. “It created a bit of an internet storm with that spiral,” Hampton said.

Photographers out for the northern lights show also posted their photos on social media.

“This all happened as it passed over Alaska during a beautiful aurora display, stunning many night-watchers including myself,” professional photographer Todd Salat, known for stunning aurora images, told The Associated Press in an email.

“Trust me, at first, I was totally bewildered,” he said. “I now know it can be explained with rocket science, but during and immediately after the experience, I thoroughly enjoyed the mysterious feeling of the unknown.”

The rocket took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Friday night with about 25 satellites as its payload.

注释：

enthusiast: n

表示"热衷者"，means "a person having a strong liking for something"，如：He is an enthusiast about politics. 他是个热衷于政治的人。

aurora: n

表示" 曙光；极光"，means "the first light of day;an atmospheric phenomenon consisting of bands of light caused by charged solar particles following the earths magnetic lines of force"，如：The aurora flushed into the sky. 曙光映红天空。The aurora is one of natures most awesome spectacles. 极光是自然界最可畏的奇观之一。

mundane: adj

表示" 平凡的；世俗的；世界的"，means "concerned with the world or worldly matters"，如：I lead a pretty mundane life; nothing interesting ever happens to me.我生活平凡

jettison: v

表示" 抛弃；丢弃；投弃"，means "throw away, of something encumbering"，如：The first-stage vehicle is used to launch the rocket and is then jettisoned in the upper atmosphere. 第一级运载火箭是用来发射火箭的,进入高层大气后即抛掉。

bewilder: v

表示" 使迷惑； 使 ... 不知所措"，means " confuse, especially by the presence of many different things at the same time"，如：You bewildered me. 你把我搞糊涂了。

payload: n

表示"负载"，means "goods carried by a large vehicle"，如：The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element. 雪橇的负载又添加了些有趣的因素。

中文简要说明：

近日不少在阿拉斯加追极光的人都目睹了天空出现神秘蓝色「螺旋光」，甚至有人拍下山头上巨大螺旋光与绿色极光共舞的震撼美景，令人惊叹，不少人希望这道光是外星人降临或是宇宙入口，不过他们失望了，专家解释，这道光源自于SpaceX火箭发射后释放多余燃料所致。

综合美联社、美国哥伦比亚广播公司新闻网（CBS News）报道，拍摄极光多年的「极光猎人」萨拉特（Todd Salat）15日凌晨2时许目睹了此生首见的奇景，他在脸书分享的照片显示，极光的绿色光影点亮夜空、照耀覆盖着白雪的山头，不过绿色夜空中还有一团巨大蓝色螺旋光，画面相当震撼。

几英里外，出外赏极光的威丝娜尔（Elizabeth Withnall）也目睹了同样奇景，她在脸书分享蓝色神秘螺旋光漂浮夜空的多张照片，形容是「天空中看过最疯狂的事」，「我经常在空中看见奇怪的事，但这简直是疯了。」 这道螺旋光出现几分钟后旋即消失，神秘的螺旋状令人联想到宇宙入口，威丝娜尔坦言她真希望是外星人降临。

不过外星迷要失望了，阿拉斯加大学费尔班克斯分校（University of Alaska Fairbanks）地球物理研究所（Geophysical Institute）太空物理学家汉普顿（Don Hampton）说，这道螺旋光只是3小时前，从5000公里以外的加州范登堡太空基地（Vandenberg Space Force Base）发射的SpaceX火箭释放的多余燃料所致。

他解释，有时火箭必须释出多余燃料，当在高空释出时，燃料就会变成冰。如果释放燃料时正巧有阳光照射，地面又处于黑夜时，从地面上来看，这些燃料会像是一大团云，有时呈现螺旋状。汉普顿说这种景象并不常见，他这辈子看过三次。

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