Shimmering SpaceX Rocket Launch Seen From NorCal Skies

CALIFORNIA — Californians awake at 6 a.m. Friday were treated to an unusual light show, and many took to the internet to ask what it was.

Despite the standard UFO speculation, it turns out that the artful explosion of shimmering blue, gold, silver, and red was actually a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching 23 Starlink satellites into orbit from the Vandenberg Space Force Base on the Santa Barbara County Coast. The Starlink satellites bring high-speed broadband internet for hundreds of miles.

The rocket plumes can also be seen for hundreds of miles, and because it was launched from the Central Coast, its plume was visible in both Northern and Southern California. Viewers tools photos and videos of the “jellyfish,” which occurs when the expanded rocket plume is illuminated by the sunlight, creating a large, translucent shape. The thin atmosphere also expands the water vapor gases, scattering sunlight and creating intricate patterns.

The Vandenberg Space Force Base said on Facebook that the launch at 6:07 a.m. marks the fourth space launch and missile test from the United States Space Force’s West Coast Spaceport and Test Range at Vandenberg Space Force Base in 2025.

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