NASA’s SpaceX launch lights up the sky with a giant glowing jellyfish

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket created a dazzling, jellyfish-shaped glow across the eastern United States as sunlight illuminated its exhaust during an early morning launch. The mission delivered equipment and scientific experiments to the International Space Station, including research that could advance treatments for blindness, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other diseases. NASA’s SpaceX launch lights up the sky with a giant glowing jellyfish.

As the rocket climbed above Earth carrying a Dragon spacecraft, sunlight illuminated its expanding exhaust plumes, creating an enormous glowing shape that resembled a jellyfish. This striking phenomenon, known as a "jellyfish," occurs when a rocket launches near sunrise or sunset. Sunlight reaches the exhaust high in the atmosphere, making the spreading plume shine brightly against the darker sky below.

See a wider view of the "jellyfish." SpaceX Launch Creates a Spectacular Sky Display The mission lifted off at 6:33 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The illuminated exhaust plumes were visible across the eastern United States, giving observers a remarkable view of the rocket’s journey into space.