Stunning Sky Show from the West Coast: Watch the SpaceX Falcon 9 “Jellyfish” Phenomenon

On Sunday evening, parts of the Western United States were treated to a mesmerizing celestial display as a bright, expanding streak lit up the sky from Los Angeles to Phoenix. The spectacle occurred shortly after a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, carrying 28 Starlink satellites.

The launch, which took place at 11:04 p.m. EDT, was visible as a glowing plume of engine exhaust illuminated against the darkening sky. The upper atmosphere’s density causes the rocket’s exhaust to expand, creating a captivating “jellyfish” shape that many observers reported seeing, especially during sunset conditions that highlighted the phenomenon beautifully.

Images captured during the event show a luminous white stream stretching across the sky, with one witness, a spaceflight enthusiast, noting he watched the display from Afton Canyon in the Mojave Desert. “It was lit up gorgeously from below by the setting sun and made for a surprising start to a night of dark sky stargazing,” he said.

an expanding white plume extends from a small point of white light, growing thicker in a stream across the darkening blue sky. — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket ascends, creating a dazzling “space jellyfish” glow over Vandenberg, seen from Altadena, California. (Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The rocket’s first stage successfully landed on SpaceX’s drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Pacific Ocean about 8.5 minutes after liftoff, marking the 28th mission for this particular booster. The second stage deployed the satellites into low Earth orbit as planned.

While such visual phenomena are not uncommon, they are most often seen during dawn or dusk launches, when lighting conditions are just right. Residents near launch sites should keep an eye on the sky for future displays of this nature.