“Space Jellyfish” Seen Over the US Turns Out to Be a Rocket Exhaust Plume
On the morning of 13 October, a glowing jellyfish-shaped cloud was spotted over several US states. It was the exhaust plume of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lit by the sun.
Residents of several US states looked up on the early morning of 13 October and saw a large, glowing formation in the sky that many called a “space jellyfish”. Images show the full colour spectrum, with the cloud layers taking on an almost eerie texture. The phenomenon had nothing to do with sea creatures: it appeared after a launch by the space company SpaceX.
What caused it
According to the British newspaper Daily Mail, the glowing cloud was left over from the rocket's fuel exhaust. The Falcon 9 rocket was heading to the International Space Station after lifting off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The launch took place 48 minutes before sunrise. In the upper atmosphere the exhaust gases crystallised, and the frozen particles reflected sunlight.
Explanation from SpaceX and NASA
SpaceX posted several images on the social network X. In its explanation, such a jellyfish forms around sunrise or sunset, when the rocket's exhaust plume becomes brightly lit and creates a glowing shape resembling a jellyfish. NASA's Kennedy Space Center asked people to share where they had seen it.
About the mission
The launch was part of SpaceX's 35th commercial resupply mission for NASA. More than 6,300 scientific investigations and cargo were sent to the International Space Station.
