Space jellyfish

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 in direct sunlight. This luminous apparition is reminiscent of a jellyfish. Sightings of the phenomenon have led to panic, fear of nuclear missile strike, and reports of unidentified flying objects.

A similar effect is the twilight phenomenon.

List of rocket launches causing space jellyfish

Rocket launch Payload Date Location Summary Ref.
Falcon 9
Bandwagon 5 launch on October, 20 2026.
 Bandwagon 5 (Dedicated Mid-Inclination Rideshare) 20 October 2026 Florida SLC-40 Morning Launch (7:04 am EST) leads to jellyfish. Vibrant tentacles, faint head.
Falcon 9 SpaceX CRS-35 13 October 2026 Florida SLC-40 Morning Launch (6:33 am EST) leads to jellyfish.
Spectrum Jellyfish on the livestream at 1:01:34 : https://www.youtube.com/live/Ss1DUqLjecc?si=XIY2gtkYMPGVONvZ Mission 2 : Onward and Upward 5 September 2026 Andøya Space, Norway Evening launch (10:12 pm CEST) creates a jellyfish.
Falcon 9 Starlink Mission 22 April 2026 Vandenberg Space Force Base SLC-4E Evening launch (8:23 pm PDT) creates a jellyfish.
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.
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.
Falcon 9 Starlink Mission 3 July 2024 Florida SLC-40
Firefly Alpha flight FLTA005 Eight CubeSats 3 July 2024 Vandenberg Space Force Base
Falcon 9 flight 361 Starlink Group 9-1 18 June 2024 Vandenberg Space Force Base
Falcon 9 flight 339 Starlink Group 6-63 24 May 2024 Florida Night-time Starlink launch. Jellyfish caused by moonlight.
Falcon 9 flight 338 Starlink Group 6-62 23 May 2024 Florida Night-time Starlink launch. Jellyfish caused by moonlight.
Falcon 9 flight 232 Transporter 8 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 15 December 2022 India, Myanmar, Bangladesh An early evening test launch. Assumed to be of an Agni-V ICBM
Falcon 9 flight 152 Starlink Group 4–17 6 May 2022 Florida An early-morning launch causing UFO reports
Falcon 9 flight 126 Inspiration4 15 September 2021 Florida The first fully civilian crewed orbital spaceflight, launched from Cape Canaveral after sunset
Soyuz-2.1.a launch Progress MS-17 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".
Falcon 9 flight 114 SpaceX Crew-2 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.
Falcon 9 flight 62 SAOCOM 1A 8 October 2018 California A West Coast launch off California, in the post-dusk; causing UFO reports
Falcon 9 flight 57 SpaceX CRS-15 29 June 2018 Florida An East Coast launch off Florida, in the pre-dawn
Soyuz-2.1.b launch Glonass-M satellite 17 June 2018 European Russia A launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome heading over the cities of Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan, Russia
Falcon 9 flight 46 SpaceX Iridium 4 22 December 2017 California A West Coast launch off California, in the post-dusk
Atlas V 551 AV-056 flight MUOS-4 2 September 2015 Florida A Cape Canaveral launch in the pre-dawn
Meteor-M2 weather satellite 8 July 2014 European Russia A launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
RS-12M Topol-M nuclear missile test launch N/a 10 October 2013 Eurasia Launched from Kapustin Yar, Russia; to crash into Sary Shagan, Kazakhstan
Kosmos 1188 14 June 1980 European Russia A launch from Plesetsk Cosmodrome resulted in a giant U-shaped jellyfish appearing over Moscow and Kalinin, Russia
Kosmos 955 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"

See also

Notes

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

References

  1. 1 2 Weitering, Hanneke (29 June 2018). "See the 'Space Jellyfish' and Other Jaw-Dropping Views from SpaceX's Dragon Launch". Space.com.
  2. ↑ "РОСКОСМОС. ИНВЕРСИОННЫЙ СЛЕД РАКЕТЫ-НОСИТЕЛЯ "СОЮЗ-2.1Б" НАБЛЮДАЛИ В РЯДЕ РЕГИОНОВ РОССИИ" (in Russian). Roscosmos. 17 June 2018.
  3. ↑ Subat, Marta (4 July 2018). "Science: See the 'Space Jellyfish' and Other Jaw-Dropping Views from SpaceX's Dragon Launch". Infosurhoy.
  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.
  5. ↑ Segarra, Lisa Marie (23 December 2017). "People in L.A. Definitely Thought This SpaceX Rocket Launch Was Aliens". Time.
  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).
  7. ↑ "A giant, glowing jellyfish or an alien invasion? No, this is a reused SpaceX rocket". Hindustan Times. Associated Press. 23 December 2017.
  8. 1 2 Baynes, Chris (18 June 2018). "'Alien invasion' over World Cup stadium was actually Russian rocket launch". The Independent (UK). Archived from the original on 2022-05-24.
  9. 1 2 "Russian Rocket Launch Sparks UFO Conspiracy". The Moscow Times. 18 June 2018.
  10. ↑ https://isaraerospace.com/mission-updates-overview date=2026-09-05 |website=isaraerospace.com
  11. ↑ Personal sighting. https://www.spacex.com/launches/sl-17-14|access-date=2026-04-23 |website=Space.com
  12. ↑ "SpaceX launches 28 Starlink satellites from Florida on Saturday doubleheader (video)". Space.com. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  13. ↑ Scully, Janene (3 July 2024). "Firefly Aerospace's Alpha Rocket Launch Lights Up the Sky". Noozhawk. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  14. ↑ NASASpaceflight (2024-05-23). SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Starlink 6-63. Retrieved 2024-07-01 – via YouTube.
  15. ↑ NASASpaceflight (2024-05-22). SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Starlink 6-62. Retrieved 2024-07-01 – via YouTube.
  16. ↑ "Is that a UFO? Or a meteor? Or India's nuclear missile Agni-V?". India Today. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  17. ↑ "SpaceX launch lights up the sky in an unbelievable way". Jacksonville, Florida, USA: WJXT. 6 May 2022 – via YouTube.
  18. ↑ Lada, Brian (15 September 2021). "SpaceX launch creates mesmerizing clouds over East Coast". AccuWeather. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  19. ↑ "Russian cargo ship sets off after the International Space Station in dramatic sky show". CBS News. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  20. ↑ Progress MS-17 launch, retrieved 2021-06-30
  21. ↑ Thompson, Amy (23 April 2021). "SpaceX launches 4 astronauts to space station, nails rocket landing". Space.com. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  22. ↑ Sangalang, Jennifer and Kelly, Emre (2021-04-23). "NASA and SpaceX launch Crew-2 astronauts: Best tweets, photos from Twitter, Instagram". Florida Today. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  23. ↑ Volz, Brianna (2021-04-23). "What were those white flashes in the sky after SpaceX's Crew-2 launch? We explain". WKMG. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  24. ↑ Lozovschi, Alexandra (10 October 2018). "Stunning Photos From The Latest SpaceX Rocket Launch Reveal A Dazzling Plume In The California Sky". The Inquisitor.
  25. ↑ Graham, William (7 October 2018). "SpaceX Falcon 9 launches with SAOCOM 1A and nails first West Coast landing". NASA.
  26. ↑ Atkinson, Ian (2 October 2018). "SpaceX conducts static fire test ahead of SAOCOM-1A mission, first west coast RTLS". NASA.
  27. ↑ Davis, Charlotte (22 June 2018). "Residents startled as BIZZARE [sic] 'UFO' object lights up night sky near Russia World Cup city". The Express (UK).
  28. ↑ Grush, Loren (23 December 2018). "All the best reactions to SpaceX's Friday night rocket launch in California". The Verge.
  29. ↑ O'Callaghan, Jonathan (4 September 2015). "No, That Incredible Atlas V Launch Was Not A UFO". IFL Science.
  30. ↑ Lambert, Maxime (21 July 2016). "La vidéo d'un étrange halo bleu relance le débat sur Internet" (in French). Maxi Sciences. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  31. ↑ Hitchings, Lauren (10 July 2014). "Jellyfish in the sky was a high-flying rocket plume". New Scientist.
  32. ↑ Boyle, Alan (14 October 2013). "UFO? Astro ghost? Find out what that spooky space cloud really was". NBC News.
  33. ↑ Rutkowski, Chris A. (2008). A World of UFOs. Dundurn. p. 99. ISBN 978-1-77070-343-8.
  34. ↑ Oberg, James (31 December 1981). "Close encounters of a fabricated kind". New Scientist. Vol. 92, no. 1285. pp. 896–898.

Further reading