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.
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 short version
- 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.
- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket transformed the early morning sky into a spectacular display of light on October 13, 2026.
- 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.
What happened
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.
Why it matters
EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
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