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 still in direct sunlight. This luminous apparition is reminiscent of a jellyfish.[1][2][3] Sightings of the phenomenon have led to panic, fear of nuclear missile strike, and reports of unidentified flying objects.[4][5][6][7][8][9]

List of rocket launches causing space jellyfish
Rocket launch Payload Date Location Summary Notes References
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 [10]
Falcon 9 flight 152 Starlink Group 4–17 6 May 2022 Florida An early-morning launch causing UFO reports [11]
Falcon 9 flight 126 Inspiration4 15 September 2021 Florida The first fully civilian crewed orbital spaceflight, launched from Cape Canaveral after sunset [12]
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". [13][14]
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. [15][16][17]
Falcon 9 flight 62 SAOCOM 1A 8 October 2018 California A West Coast launch off California, in the post-dusk; causing UFO reports [18][19][20]
Falcon 9 flight 57 SpaceX CRS-15 29 June 2018 Florida An East Coast launch off Florida, in the pre-dawn [1]
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 [8][9][21]
Falcon 9 flight 46 SpaceX Iridium 4[NB 1] 22 December 2017 California A West Coast launch off California, in the post-dusk [22]
Atlas V 551 AV-056 flight MUOS-4[NB 2] 2 September 2015 Florida A Cape Canaveral launch in the pre-dawn [23][24]
Meteor-M2 weather satellite 8 July 2014 European Russia A launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan [25]
RS-12M Topol-M nuclear missile test launch — 10 October 2013 Eurasia Launched from Kapustin Yar, Russia; to crash into Shary Shagan, Kazakhstan [26]
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 [27]
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" [28]

See also

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

References
  1. 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.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  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. 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. "Russian Rocket Launch Sparks UFO Conspiracy". The Moscow Times. 18 June 2018.
  10. "Is that a UFO? Or a meteor? Or India's nuclear missile Agni-V?". India Today. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  11. News4JAX (6 May 2022). "SpaceX launch lights up the sky in an unbelievable way on YouTube". Jacksonville, Florida, USA: WJXT4. {{cite news}}: External link in |title= (help)
  12. Lada, Brian (15 September 2021). "SpaceX launch creates mesmerizing clouds over East Coast". AccuWeather. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  13. "Russian cargo ship sets off after the International Space Station in dramatic sky show". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  14. Progress MS-17 launch, retrieved 2021-06-30
  15. Thompson, Amy (23 April 2021). "SpaceX launches 4 astronauts to space station, nails rocket landing". Space.com. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. Lozovschi, Alexandra (10 October 2018). "Stunning Photos From The Latest SpaceX Rocket Launch Reveal A Dazzling Plume In The California Sky". The Inquisitor.
  19. Graham, William (7 October 2018). "SpaceX Falcon 9 launches with SAOCOM 1A and nails first West Coast landing". NASASpaceflight.com.
  20. Atkinson, Ian (2 October 2018). "SpaceX conducts static fire test ahead of SAOCOM-1A mission, first west coast RTLS". NASASpaceflight.com.
  21. Davis, Charlotte (22 June 2018). "Residents startled as BIZZARE [sic] 'UFO' object lights up night sky near Russia World Cup city". The Express (UK).
  22. Grush, Loren (23 December 2018). "All the best reactions to SpaceX's Friday night rocket launch in California". The Verge.
  23. O'Callaghan, Jonathan (4 September 2015). "No, That Incredible Atlas V Launch Was Not A UFO". IFL Science.
  24. 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.
  25. Hitchings, Lauren (10 July 2014). "Jellyfish in the sky was a high-flying rocket plume". New Scientist.
  26. Boyle, Alan (14 October 2013). "UFO? Astro ghost? Find out what that spooky space cloud really was". NBC News.
  27. Rutkowski, Chris A. (2008). A World of UFOs. Dundurn. p. 99. ISBN 978-1-77070-343-8.
  28. Oberg, James (31 December 1981). "Close encounters of a fabricated kind". New Scientist. Vol. 92, no. 1285. pp. 896–898.

Further reading
  • Clarke, David (2013). The UFO Files: The Inside Story of Real-life Sightings. A & C Black. ISBN 978-1-4081-9482-9.
  • Rutkowski, Chris A. (2008). A World of UFOs. Dundurn. ISBN 978-1-77070-343-8.
  • Oberg, James E., The "Jellyfish UFO" Dilemma (PDF), Donning
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