October 29, 2025<\/a><\/p>\nExperts and amateur stargazers deduced the distracting light was the ejection of fuel from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which launched from Florida on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
SpaceX, owned by tech billionaire and world\u2019s richest man Mr Musk, operate a series of low-earth orbit satellites for Starlink, an international satellite telecommunications service.<\/p>\n
The bright light was said to be caused by the process of excess rocket fuel being ejected and freezing, then reflecting light back to earth.<\/p>\n
The path and the trajectory of the rocket matches the reported sightings over Ireland, experts said.<\/p>\n
Space commentator Leo Enright said ejecting fuel from rockets was a normal occurrence.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIf they keep the fuel in the rocket there is a danger that it will explode and shower debris, so it is a standard practice now for space companies to vent fuel,\u201d Mr Enright told the PA news agency.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does look spectacular if it happens at a particular time of the day, when the viewer down on earth is in darkness or near darkness and the rocket stage is in light.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the view is often \u201cmore spectacular\u201d than was seen on Wednesday night because the ejected fuel can be seen rotating.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the stage is rotating you get a truly extraordinary spiral effect that makes it look like a galaxy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked why the spectacle had not grabbed attention in Ireland previously, he said: \u201cThe lighting, that\u2019s the reason.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all to do with lighting, and also honestly seeing anything from Ireland is a challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I\u2019m sure it\u2019s happened in the sky and we just couldn\u2019t see it because of cloud.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Mr Enright also said there was an irony to the sighting because astronomers from around the world are meeting in Westport, Co Mayo, this week to discuss the clutter effect of satellites causing congestion in the skies.<\/p>\n
\u201cAstronomers are extremely annoyed about the effect this is having on their ability to look at the stars,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese damn satellites are getting in the way and the problem is getting worse and worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that some months ago \u201ca big chunk\u201d from a SpaceX rocket fell \u201charmlessly\u201d in a field in Poland.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason why Ireland is quite vulnerable (to space debris) is that we are, generally speaking, at the highest point on the map of the launch trajectory of the rockets out of Cape Canaveral (in Florida).<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it\u2019s never been an issue up to now because rockets were only launching once a week, maybe, now they\u2019re launching virtually once a day out of Cape Canaveral with the SpaceX rockets.\u201d<\/p>\n
AirNav Ireland has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n