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A peculiar jellyfish-like occurrence was seen darting across the sky. California sky Monday night.
While the unusual ' UFO 'Sighting puzzled numerous residents from the Mojave Desert to Los Angeles 'South Bay, according to scientists, saw no involvement of extraterrestrials in forming the jellyfish; it occurred naturally. Elon Musk rocket .
SpaceX The most recent Falcon 9 rocket launch took place at 11:36 PM ET on Monday evening, departing from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Shortly after the launch began, the rocket's exhaust mingled with the atmospheric conditions, resulting in a discernible cloud formed from condensed water vapor.
As the launch occurred shortly after sundown, at approximately 8:36 PM PT, the sunlight highlighted the crystallized exhaust plume, creating a breathtaking view for millions of observers on the ground.
Residents of California shared photos of the rocket ascending into the sky across the state, with some sightings as far south as Riverside, more than 200 miles away from the launch location at Vandenberg.
Cameron Gable, SpaceX’s chief avionics systems engineer, documented the jellyfish-like behavior of particles around the rocket during its journey through Los Angeles County's South Bay region.
The mission called Starlink 15-9 witnessed SpaceX launching its newest set of satellites for Starlink. satellites into Low Earth Orbit.
The jellyfish effect, referred to as a 'vapor cone' or 'shock collar,' happens due to the drop in local air pressure around the rocket, which leads to a reduction in air temperature and causes water vapor to form noticeable cloud formations.
The massive jellyfish exhibition on Monday began shortly after the start of the flight and could be seen by everyone in the Southern California region.
It isn't the first instance of a SpaceX rocket doing this. produced the jellyfish effect In October 2022, observers of the night sky spotted yet another Falcon 9 rocket forming an identical vapor trail during a comparable mission aimed at launching new satellites.
The Falcon 9 launch on Monday marked another step in SpaceX’s continuous endeavors to grow its Starlink network, with the aim of improving worldwide web access.
SpaceX has already carried out 75 launches in 2025, mainly for Starlink missions.
The mission also employed a reusable first-stage engine, which is a key feature of SpaceX's design approach intended to decrease the expense of space travel.
SpaceX captured the moment on their live broadcast When the reusable engine made a safe touchdown back on Earth for potential use in upcoming missions.
The mission on Monday marked the 200th launch from the company's Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg.
The remotely controlled recoverable rocket motor successfully landed on SpaceX’s drone ship in the Pacific Ocean roughly eight minutes following liftoff, marking it as the 463rd engine brought back to our planet.
Although the jellyfish effect might appear as an odd unidentified flying object to those without proper training, it is quite typical during spacecraft missions.
Social media users often snap images of rockets producing a jellyfish-like trail visible from hundreds of miles away.
One X user in Phoenix , Arizona, managed to observe a comparable jellyfish during a June 2024 launch. The mission included a Falcon 9 taking off from Vandenberg, located more than 500 miles distant.
During a rocket launch, a significant volume of exhaust gases is expelled at high velocities. Composed mainly of water vapor, carbon dioxide, and various other products from the rocket ignition, these gases quickly expand once they leave the nozzle of the rocket.
When the exhaust plume spreads out, it meets with colder, denser air in Earth’s higher atmosphere. This may lead to the water vapor within the exhaust turning into visible clouds, resulting in a balloon-shaped formation surrounding the rocket.
The rapid velocity of the rocket can generate shock waves, which mold the exhaust into distinct shapes, resulting in what’s known as the jellyfish effect.
Falcon 9 rockets from SpaceX frequently create this phenomenon thanks to their regular launch schedule and recoverable first stages, particularly because of how they are designed and the usual timing selected for maximum visual impact.
Nevertheless, any rocket launch globally has the potential to create a jellyfish-like trail, particularly under atmospheric conditions conducive to producing an impressive visual effect.
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