Anderson Joshua@anderson_joshua

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Space Jellyfish Effect sky display

Imagine staring at the horizon after sunset and spotting a massive, glowing creature drifting through the air. That isn't a UFO or a comet, though without the science it's easy to think so. What you're actually seeing is the Space Jellyfish Effect, a real atmospheric phenomenon triggered when a rocket fires its engines high above Earth. The exhaust gases burst out and expand into a gigantic cloud that hangs in the upper atmosphere. Even though the sun has dipped below the horizon for people on the ground, that altitude keeps the cloud bathed in sunlight. This illumination makes the expanding gas look like a luminous jellyfish floating silently overhead. It turns out what looks like magic is just physics doing its thing with rocket fuel and light angles.

3h

Anderson Joshua@anderson_joshua

Follow

Space Jellyfish Effect sky display

Imagine staring at the horizon after sunset and spotting a massive, glowing creature drifting through the air. That isn't a UFO or a comet, though without the science it's easy to think so. What you're actually seeing is the Space Jellyfish Effect, a real atmospheric phenomenon triggered when a rocket fires its engines high above Earth. The exhaust gases burst out and expand into a gigantic cloud that hangs in the upper atmosphere. Even though the sun has dipped below the horizon for people on the ground, that altitude keeps the cloud bathed in sunlight. This illumination makes the expanding gas look like a luminous jellyfish floating silently overhead. It turns out what looks like magic is just physics doing its thing with rocket fuel and light angles.

3h