It might have looked like an alien invasion.

But this strange swirling object spotted in the night sky last night is likely to have been caused by the frozen exhaust plume of the SpaceX rocket which was launched yesterday.

Liz Ferrara captured these incredible images from above her home in Cronk-y-Berry.

She said: ‘It was very cool.

‘It started as a moving star or satellite and then changed shape until it became a swirl.’

The UK Met Office posted last night: ‘We’ve received many reports of an illuminated swirl in the sky this evening.

‘This is likely to be caused by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched earlier today.

‘The rocket’s frozen exhaust plume appears to be spinning in the atmosphere and reflecting the sunlight, causing it to appear as a spiral in the sky.’

The SpaceX rocket launched at 5.50pm GMT on Monday from Cape Canaveral in Florida on a classified US government mission.

Leftover rocket fuel was ejected, and instantly freezes, from the Falcon 9 during its journey to Earth orbit.

SpaceX is a company owned by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk.

Monday’s launch was the fifth mission carried out this year for the US National Reconnaissance Office, which manages America’s spy satellites.

It was the second flight for the Falcon 9 rocket which had previously launched a Starlink satellite on February 27.

Some 8.5 minutes after take-off, the booster rocket cruised back for a landing, complete with a sonic boom.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is due to a mission to resupply the International Space Centre for NASA, with a date being targeted no earlier than April 21.

Did you see the swirl in the sky? Send your photos to [email protected]