NASA Releases Falcon 9 'Space Jellyfish' Photos After 6:33 A.M. Launch
Updated
Updated · PetaPixel · Oct 15
NASA Releases Falcon 9 'Space Jellyfish' Photos After 6:33 A.M. Launch
3 articles · Updated · PetaPixel · Oct 15
Summary
NASA published a new set of images showing a glowing “space jellyfish” over Cape Canaveral after Tuesday’s 6:33 a.m. SpaceX Falcon 9 liftoff.
Sunlight hit the rocket’s expanding exhaust plume in the upper atmosphere before sunrise, creating the jellyfish-like shape NASA said can appear when launches occur at just the right time.
The Falcon 9 flew northeast from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, letting viewers well beyond Florida—including in Georgia and New York—see the display; photographer Gary Hershorn also captured it over Manhattan.
Another chance is coming on Oct. 19, when SpaceX is scheduled to launch another Falcon 9 from the same site at 6:30 a.m., a timing that could again produce the effect.