Some beautiful spirals from Russian rocket booster.

The Norwegians seem to have all the luck when it comes to sky gazing. They get very little light polution, they get the aurora, and now they have amazing rocket ejecta spirals. I would have loved to see this.

Of course the various breeds of loons, nuts and conspiracy theorists are all over this. Phil Plait has covered the story here and here.

On another note: those in the UK lucky enough to have a clear sky should expect to see a meteor shower, which should peak (~2/minute) at ~2200 this evening. The show is courtesy of the Geminid meteors.