Can someone explain the physics to me (citing an equation or two would be fine) of how that background spiral vortex was created by the failure of the missle whose perpendicular cork screw "contrail" is presumably but inexplicably illuminated in blue?
Sure. It's sorta like animal magnetism
Yeah. I’m still skeptical.
Not convinced by any of fhe explanations so far.
Imagine a pinwheel in space.
As it turns it ejects material outward, by the time it has made a full revolution the bit that it first ejected at that angle has travelled away from the center, and it adds a new bit in that direction.
Next revolution, there are two bits away from the center, one further than the other.
Next revolution, three bits evenly spaced and so on.
In the vacuum of space you get a perfect spiral.
To me it looks like the engine was a little off center, and the missile travelled a corkscrew path trying to correct, ending when the nozzle jammed hard over.
YMMV