NEWS · FLORIDA, USA
A glowing ‘space jellyfish’ over Florida was a SpaceX launch
Before sunrise on October 13, a Falcon 9 carrying cargo to the Space Station lit up the sky from Florida to Ohio. Here’s why rocket launches keep causing UFO reports.
At 6:33 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, October 13, a SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral carrying NASA’s 35th Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-35): a Cargo Dragon loaded with more than 6,300 pounds of science experiments and supplies for the International Space Station. Docking was expected on Thursday, October 15.
Because the launch came just before sunrise, the ground was still dark while the rocket climbed into sunlight. Its exhaust plume spread into a glowing, bell-shaped cloud of blue, purple and orange — the effect skywatchers call a “space jellyfish.” People across Central Florida filmed it, and viewers as far away as the Cincinnati–Dayton area reported a bright light moving through the sky.
Why it looks so strange
High above the ground, the air is so thin that the exhaust expands into a huge, smooth shell instead of a narrow trail. In twilight, the sun is below the horizon for people on the ground but still shines on the plume dozens of miles up, so the cloud seems to glow on its own against a dark sky. It can look like a lit object hovering, pulsing or changing shape — and from hundreds of miles away there is no rocket in sight to explain it.
Launches and UFO reports
Rocket launches are one of the most dependable sources of mass UFO reports. When a Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at dusk in December 2017, its glowing plume set off a wave of calls and social-media posts across Southern California. Satellite “trains” such as Starlink, planets like Venus and drones account for many other reports. Our explained vs. unexplained guide covers the most common causes.
None of this explains every sighting, but it is a useful test. Before deciding something in the sky is unknown, check whether a launch, a satellite pass or a bright planet was in view at the time. Launch schedules are public, and the jellyfish effect happens only around dawn and dusk.
