A "space jellyfish" appeared after SpaceX deployed a Falcon 9 rocket with 53 Starlink satellites from Kennedy Space Center Friday.
The "jellyfish effect" is generated by the rocket's exhaust plume being illuminated high in the stratosphere after launch, and it only occurs around dawn or sunset, Florida Today reported.
It did form as predicted, and while thin layers of scattered clouds obscured some popular viewing areas, individuals as far away as Georgia were treated to a spectacular display!
The next launch is set for May 10, when a Falcon 9 rocket will blast off from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California with another wave of Starlink satellites.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Inspiration4 crew launches from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on September 15, 2021.
Florida Residents Find Bizarre Space Jellyfish From SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket
Residents in the neighborhood were treated to the sight of the aerial anomaly not long after and many posted photos of the bizarre but beautiful phenomenon they witnessed online.
Images of the odd splendor were uploaded from the Space Coast to St. Petersburg. The stunning pictures featured a blue, radiant comet pierced through the purple and pink dusk sky.
The "Space Jellyfish" from this AMs @SpaceX #Starlink 4-17 launch this morning. Full trail shot over the @StPetePier to follow later today or tomorrow. #spacex #starlink417 #Astrophotography #rocketlaunch pic.twitter.com/1IAX1bPVg2
— Matthew Paulson (@MattPaulson28) May 6, 2022
SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launch Caps Of A Busy Week
The 230-foot SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched this morning, capping off a busy week of space news by putting hundreds of Starlink internet satellites into orbit only hours after astronauts returned from the International Space Station.
Starlink, a SpaceX-built network of satellites that offer internet access to consumers on the ground, launched for the 45th time from Kennedy Space Center's pad 39A. Shortly after liftoff, the Shortfall of Gravitas drone ship collected the rocket's first stage, which was on its 12th mission.
Starlink has received 2,500 satellites from SpaceX. The constellation now has around 2,000 satellites due to declining orbits and failures.
While SpaceX and Starlink lead the race in terms of satellites, The Sun (via The New York Post) said Jeff Bezos' space enterprise is catching up.
Amazon's internet-from-space program, Project Kuiper, has received FCC approval to launch over 3,000 satellites into lower Earth orbit.
RELATED ARTICLE: Experts Reveal That 3% Of SpaceX's Starlink Satellites Have Failed In Orbit So Far
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