Residents across the UK were left scratching their heads on Monday evening (March 24) when a 'spinning' orb lit up the night sky. The spiral anomaly led to speculation of a UFO sighting, with some saying their 'kids were freaked out' after spotting it overhead.

However, any fears of extraterrestrial activity were quickly dispelled as the unusual occurrence was believed to be due to the launch of a Space X rocket.

Images and videos shared online captured the bright light 'spinning' across the night sky, prompting people to take to social media platforms to question its origin.

The peculiar circular light was not only observed in Greater Manchester but also in Derbyshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Staffordshire and other parts of the UK, including the south, causing quite a stir on social media.

Reacting to the spectacle, one person exclaimed: "Pretty certain I just saw a UFO. Did anyone else see it?" Another queried: "Has anyone else just seen this over Radcliffe in the sky because me and the kids are freaked out.

"Anyone seen the strange moving objects in the sky? 8pm. One bright thing with white misty rings round it. Moving slow for ages then completely disappeared," another intrigued observer wrote.

An amused observer joked: "It's Batman's new call sign" while another mused: "It's a worm hole to Alpha Centauri. Opens to allow aliens safe passage to earth."

The mysterious spectacle in the sky sent social media into overdrive as one person questioned: "Did anyone else just see this swirling thing in the sky? It was spinning round and then went off into the distance."

Their bewilderment was echoed in another bewildered post which declared: "What have we just seen??? It was moving and then faded away after about 2 mins and there were other small what looked like stars moving around it too."

The enigmatic orb sighting coincides with the launch of Space X's US spy satellite on Monday (March 24), making it a likely explanation for the occurrence, reports the Manchester Evening News. Launching aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station after 1.45pm, the NROL-69 mission serves the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

This is not the first time such a spiral has caused a stir; in 2023, a strikingly similar sight was observed in regions of the USA, following the release of excess fuel by a SpaceX rocket after its California liftoff. When the rocket conducted a venting process for the excess fuel, it formed a frozen plume that caught sunlight, leading to the visual anomaly known as the spiral anomaly.