Wild photos and videos of a “space jellyfish” behind a rocket are quickly going viral. NASA explains the magic behind the jaw-dropping sight

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A SpaceX launch on October 13 created a “space jellyfish” that could be seen for hundreds of miles away, creating incredible photos and videos

In this 15-second long exposure photograph, a "space jellyfish" stretches across the sky while the streak of light is actually the International Space Station moving in the distance
(Image credit: NASA/John Kraus)

A series of videos is quickly picking up viral fame on social media after an October 13 SpaceX launch left an unusual “space jellyfish” behind in the sky. Now, NASA is explaining the science behind the viral artwork in the sky that delighted skywatchers even hundreds of miles from the launch site.

The SpaceX CRS-35 cargo mission launched in the early hours of October 13 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carrying the spaceship Dragon and supplies and equipment on a resupply mission for NASA.

But while space launches often create epic photos and videos, that October 13 launch created what NASA is calling a “Space Jellyfish,” a brightly colored shape that expanded from the rocket’s launch path and hung suspended in the sky for several minutes.

This long exposure photograph is 480 seconds long, showing the path of the rocket as the exhaust plumes light up blue and the sun begins to rise behind the clouds (Image credit: NASA/John Kraus)

The sight was visible as far away as Washington DC – which is around 800 miles from the launch site – and videos from multiple sources of the strange shape in the sky quickly started going viral.

NASA has now shared its own photographs of the space jellyfish, taken by NASA photographer John Kraus, along with an explanation of the magic (AKA the science) behind the sight.

This 15-second photograph shows the space jellyfish expanding. The streak of light in the bottom corner is the International Space Station in the distance (Image credit: NASA/John Kraus)

The rocket launched just before sunrise at 6:33 AM ET. Sunlight reaches the Earth’s upper atmosphere first, so while the ground was still in darkness, the upper atmosphere was getting the day’s first rays of sunlight. That early sunlight backlit the rocket’s exhaust plumes, making them far more visible in the night sky than during a daylight launch.

The exhaust plumes expanded across the sky in a mesmerizing shape. The orange glow is the Flacon 9 rocket's first stage in a re-entry burn (Image credit: NASA/John Kraus)

Essentially, early morning sunlight is making the often difficult-to-see exhaust plumes stand out like fireworks in the night sky. NASA says this phenomenon can also happen when a rocket launches near sunset.

A post shared by Samil Cabrera (@astronycc)

Using light to make something hard to see suddenly highly visible is actually a tactic used in photography. Placing a light behind rain makes it pop in the photos. Using a fog machine near a window creates a visible beam of light. That’s the same thing that happened with the rocket launch – the "space jellyfish" just on a much larger scale.

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Hillary K. Grigonis
Hillary K. Grigonis
US Editor

With more than a decade of experience writing about cameras and technology, Hillary K. Grigonis leads the US coverage for Digital Camera World. Her work has appeared in Business Insider, Digital Trends, Pocket-lint, Rangefinder, The Phoblographer, and more. Her wedding and portrait photography favors a journalistic style. She’s a former Nikon shooter and a current Fujifilm user, but has tested a wide range of cameras and lenses across multiple brands. Hillary is also a licensed drone pilot.

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