High-Altitude Exhaust Plume Illumination Observed During SpaceX CRS-35 Launch
What Was Observed (Empirical Data)
During the October 13, 2026 launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the CRS-35 Dragon spacecraft, high-altitude exhaust plumes expanded in the upper atmosphere while being illuminated by sunlight near the terminator. Ground-based imaging captured the resulting twilight phenomenon, colloquially referred to as a 'space jellyfish,' caused by solar scattering off expanding propellant gases against a darkened sky.
The Reality Check (Anti-Hype Analysis)
Despite the biological nickname 'jellyfish,' this is a routine atmospheric and optical effect occurring when a rocket ascends into sunlight while the ground remains in twilight. It represents standard fluid dynamics of exhaust expansion in the mesosphere and thermosphere, not an anomalous atmospheric event or novel astrophysical discovery.
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NASA Science Releases