Earth:Space jellyfish

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Short description: Rocket launch phenomenon

A space jellyfish (also jellyfish UFO or rocket jellyfish) is a rocket launch-related phenomenon caused by sunlight reflecting off the high-altitude rocket plume gases emitted by a launching rocket during morning or evening twilight. The observer is in darkness, while the exhaust plumes at high altitudes are still in direct sunlight. This luminous apparition is reminiscent of a jellyfish.[1][2][3] Sightings of the phenomenon have led to panic, fear of nuclear missile strike, and reports of unidentified flying objects.[4][5][6][7][8][9]

A similar effect is the twilight phenomenon.

List of rocket launches causing space jellyfish

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Rocket launch Payload Date Location Summary Notes References
Falcon 9 Starlink Mission 28 September 2025 Vandenberg Space Force Base SLC-4E Evening launch creates a jellyfish.
Falcon 9 Starlink Group 10-26 26 July 2025 Florida SLC-40 Early morning (5:01AM) Starlink launch. Jellyfish caused by the rising Sun. [10]
Falcon 9 Starlink Mission 10 February 2025 Vandenberg Space Force Base California SLC-4E Evening launch (6:09 PM) creates a jellyfish plume across California skies. [11] Firefly Alpha flight FLTA005 Eight CubeSats 2024-07-03 3 July 2024


Vandenberg Space Force Base
Falcon 9 flight 361 200px Starlink Group 9-1 2024-06-18 18 June 2024


Vandenberg Space Force Base
Falcon 9 flight 339 Starlink Group 6-63 2024-05-24 24 May 2024


Florida Night-time Starlink launch. Jellyfish caused by moonlight. [12]
Falcon 9 flight 338 Starlink Group 6-62 2024-05-23 23 May 2024


Florida Night-time Starlink launch. Jellyfish caused by moonlight. [13]
Falcon 9 flight 232 200px Transporter 8 2023-06-12 12 June 2023


Vandenberg Space Force Base Afternoon launch – plume observed over Eastern Europe, approximately 75 minutes after launch
Test flight of an unidentified Indian missile None 2022-12-15 15 December 2022


India, Myanmar, Bangladesh An early evening test launch. Assumed to be of an Agni-V ICBM [14]
Falcon 9 flight 152 200px Starlink Group 4–17 2022-05-06 6 May 2022


Florida An early-morning launch causing UFO reports [15]
Falcon 9 flight 126 200x200px Inspiration4 2021-09-15 15 September 2021


Florida The first fully civilian crewed orbital spaceflight, launched from Cape Canaveral after sunset [16]
Soyuz-2.1.a launch Progress MS-17 2021-06-29 29 June 2021


European Russia A Soyuz-2.1a launched the Progress MS-17 to the International Space Station from Baikonur Site 31 on 29 June 2021. As the rocket reached the upper atmosphere the expanded rocket plume was illuminated by the Sun, creating a "jellyfish". [17][18]
Falcon 9 flight 114 200px SpaceX Crew-2 2021-04-23 23 April 2021


Florida A crewed Cape Canaveral launch in the pre-dawn. The "jellyfish" lasted over 10 minutes after liftoff. In addition to the "jellyfish" created by the second stage, the returning first stage also made visible plumes. [19][20][21]
Falcon 9 flight 62 200px SAOCOM 1A 2018-10-08 8 October 2018


California A West Coast launch off California, in the post-dusk; causing UFO reports [22][23][24]
Falcon 9 flight 57 200px SpaceX CRS-15 2018-06-29 29 June 2018


Florida An East Coast launch off Florida, in the pre-dawn [1]
Soyuz-2.1.b launch Glonass-M satellite 2018-06-17 17 June 2018


European Russia A launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome heading over the cities of Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan, Russia [8][9][25]
Falcon 9 flight 46 200px SpaceX Iridium 4[NB 1] 2017-12-22 22 December 2017


California A West Coast launch off California, in the post-dusk [26]
Atlas V 551 AV-056 flight MUOS-4[NB 2] 2015-09-02 2 September 2015


Florida A Cape Canaveral launch in the pre-dawn [27][28]
Meteor-M2 weather satellite 2014-07-08 8 July 2014


European Russia A launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan [29]
RS-12M Topol-M nuclear missile test launch 200px N/A 2013-10-10 10 October 2013


Eurasia Launched from Kapustin Yar, Russia; to crash into Sary Shagan, Kazakhstan [30]
Kosmos 1188 1980-06-14 14 June 1980


European Russia A launch from Plesetsk Cosmodrome resulted in a giant U-shaped jellyfish appearing over Moscow and Kalinin, Russia [31]
Kosmos 955 1977-09-20 20 September 1977


Northern Europe A launch from Plesetsk Cosmodrome resulted in a jellyfish vapour trail seen over northern Europe, causing the UFO incident known as the "Petrozavodsk phenomenon" [32]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Iridium-NEXT launch SpaceX-4
  2. ↑ U.S. Navy Mobile User Objective System satellite

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Weitering, Hanneke (29 June 2018). "See the 'Space Jellyfish' and Other Jaw-Dropping Views from SpaceX's Dragon Launch". Space.com. https://www.space.com/41040-jaw-dropping-spacex-dragon-launch-photos.html. 
  2. ↑ "РОСКОСМОС. ИНВЕРСИОННЫЙ СЛЕД РАКЕТЫ-НОСИТЕЛЯ "СОЮЗ-2.1Б" НАБЛЮДАЛИ В РЯДЕ РЕГИОНОВ РОССИИ". Roscosmos. 17 June 2018. https://www.roscosmos.ru/25196/. 
  3. ↑ Subat, Marta (4 July 2018). "Science: See the 'Space Jellyfish' and Other Jaw-Dropping Views from SpaceX's Dragon Launch". Infosurhoy. http://infosurhoy.com/cocoon/saii/xhtml/en_GB/science/science-see-the-space-jellyfish-and-other-jaw-dropping-views-from-spacexs-dragon-launch/. 
  4. ↑ Wootson, Cleve R. Jr. (23 December 2017). "A 'UFO sighting' briefly freaked out the West Coast. There was an earthly explanation.". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/12/23/a-ufo-sighting-briefly-freaked-out-the-west-coast-there-was-an-earthly-explanation. 
  5. ↑ Segarra, Lisa Marie (23 December 2017). "People in L.A. Definitely Thought This SpaceX Rocket Launch Was Aliens". Time. https://time.com/5078397/spacex-los-angeles-aliens/. 
  6. ↑ Wright, Mike (23 December 2017). "'Did we just see a UFO?' SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch causes consternation as it lights up the Californian skies". The Telegraph (UK). https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/23/did-just-see-ufo-spacex-falcon-9-rocket-launch-causes-consternation/. 
  7. ↑ "A giant, glowing jellyfish or an alien invasion? No, this is a reused SpaceX rocket". Hindustan Times. Associated Press. 23 December 2017. https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/a-giant-glowing-jellyfish-or-an-alien-invasion-no-this-is-a-reused-spacex-rocket/story-Hs9nUN4wjC2JnHyXjCi2II.html. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Baynes, Chris (18 June 2018). "'Alien invasion' over World Cup stadium was actually Russian rocket launch". The Independent (UK). https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/alien-invasion-world-cup-2018-russia-rocket-launch-nizhny-novgorod-a8405266.html. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Russian Rocket Launch Sparks UFO Conspiracy". The Moscow Times. 18 June 2018. https://themoscowtimes.com/news/russian-rocket-launches-ufo-conspiracy-61880. 
  10. ↑ "SpaceX launches 28 Starlink satellites from Florida on Saturday doubleheader (video)" (in en). https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-starlink-10-26-b1078-ccsfs-asog. 
  11. ↑ Scully, Janene (3 July 2024). "Firefly Aerospace's Alpha Rocket Launch Lights Up the Sky". https://www.noozhawk.com/firefly-aerospaces-alpha-rocket-launch-lights-up-the-sky/. 
  12. ↑ NASASpaceflight (2024-05-23). SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Starlink 6-63. Retrieved 2024-07-01 – via YouTube.
  13. ↑ NASASpaceflight (2024-05-22). SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Starlink 6-62. Retrieved 2024-07-01 – via YouTube.
  14. ↑ "Is that a UFO? Or a meteor? Or India's nuclear missile Agni-V?" (in en). https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/is-that-a-ufo-or-a-meteor-no-its-indias-nuclear-missile-agni-v-2309834-2022-12-16. 
  15. ↑ News4JAX (6 May 2022). "SpaceX launch lights up the sky in an unbelievable way on YouTube". Jacksonville, Florida, USA: WJXT4. 
  16. ↑ Lada, Brian (15 September 2021). "SpaceX launch creates mesmerizing clouds over East Coast". https://www.accuweather.com/en/space-news/spacex-inspiration4-launch-florida-clouds/1018645. 
  17. ↑ "Russian cargo ship sets off after the International Space Station in dramatic sky show" (in en-US). https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russian-cargo-ship-launch-international-space-station-2021-06-29/. 
  18. ↑ (in en) Progress MS-17 launch, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je_6mdR06P0, retrieved 2021-06-30 
  19. ↑ Thompson, Amy (23 April 2021). "SpaceX launches 4 astronauts to space station, nails rocket landing" (in en). https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-2-astronaut-launch-rocket-landing-success. 
  20. ↑ Sangalang, Jennifer; Kelly, Emre (2021-04-23). "NASA and SpaceX launch Crew-2 astronauts: Best tweets, photos from Twitter, Instagram" (in en-US). https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2021/04/23/photos-nasa-spacex-launch-crew-2-kennedy-space-center/7348203002. 
  21. ↑ Volz, Brianna (2021-04-23). "What were those white flashes in the sky after SpaceX's Crew-2 launch? We explain" (in en). https://www.clickorlando.com/news/space-news/2021/04/23/after-successful-spacex-launch-rocket-booster-returns-to-light-up-floridas-sky/. 
  22. ↑ Lozovschi, Alexandra (10 October 2018). "Stunning Photos From The Latest SpaceX Rocket Launch Reveal A Dazzling Plume In The California Sky". The Inquisitor. https://www.inquisitr.com/5109706/stunning-photos-from-the-latest-spacex-rocket-launch-reveal-a-dazzling-plume-in-the-california-sky/. 
  23. ↑ Graham, William (7 October 2018). "SpaceX Falcon 9 launches with SAOCOM 1A and nails first West Coast landing". NASASpaceflight.com. https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/10/spacex-falcon-9-saocom-1a-launch-west-coast-landing/. 
  24. ↑ Atkinson, Ian (2 October 2018). "SpaceX conducts static fire test ahead of SAOCOM-1A mission, first west coast RTLS". NASASpaceflight.com. https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/10/spacex-falcon-9-for-static-fire-saocom-1a-first-west-rtls/. 
  25. ↑ Davis, Charlotte (22 June 2018). "Residents startled as BIZZARE [sic] 'UFO' object lights up night sky near Russia World Cup city". The Express (UK). https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/975894/UFO-news-UFO-sightings-Russia-World-Cup-rocket-launch-satellite-programme-Kazan. 
  26. ↑ Grush, Loren (23 December 2018). "All the best reactions to SpaceX's Friday night rocket launch in California". https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/23/16814036/spacex-falcon-9-rocket-launch-los-angeles-celebrities-ufo. 
  27. ↑ O'Callaghan, Jonathan (4 September 2015). "No, That Incredible Atlas V Launch Was Not A UFO". IFL Science. http://www.iflscience.com/space/no-incredible-atlas-v-launch-was-not-ufo-please-stop-asking/. 
  28. ↑ Lambert, Maxime (21 July 2016). "La vidéo d'un étrange halo bleu relance le débat sur Internet". Maxi Sciences. https://www.maxisciences.com/ovni/la-video-d-un-etrange-halo-bleu-relance-le-debat-sur-internet_art38407.html. 
  29. ↑ Hitchings, Lauren (10 July 2014). "Jellyfish in the sky was a high-flying rocket plume". New Scientist. https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25877-jellyfish-in-the-sky-was-a-high-flying-rocket-plume/. 
  30. ↑ Boyle, Alan (14 October 2013). "UFO? Astro ghost? Find out what that spooky space cloud really was". NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/science/ufo-astro-ghost-find-out-what-spooky-space-cloud-really-8C11390533. 
  31. ↑ Rutkowski, Chris A. (2008). A World of UFOs. Dundurn. p. 99. ISBN 978-1-77070-343-8. 
  32. ↑ Oberg, James (31 December 1981). "Close encounters of a fabricated kind". New Scientist 92 (1285): 896–898. 

Further reading



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