The phenomenon took place thanks to an an early morning rocket launch by SpaceX
Credit: SpaceX/X
NEED TO KNOW
- A ‘space jellyfish’ was seen in the sky on Wednesday, March 4, in Florida
- The mesmerizing display was created thanks to a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which blasted off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station early that morning
- Some Floridians said they were shocked by the moment and didn’t know what was happening
What a sight!
On the morning of Wednesday, March 4, some Florida residents woke up to see an unusual display in the sky: a cloud above their head that looked like a jellyfish.
How did it get there? Well, shortly before 6 a.m. local time, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which was carrying a batch of Starlink internet satellites, and the contrail it left behind looked like glowing "jellyfish clouds" in the sky.
According to the Tallahassee Democrat, the sight was visible in the early morning sky across the state and even into parts of southern Georgia.
SpaceX shared pictures of the moment on social media, which attracted a lot of attention online.
"So mesmerizing Florida mornings just hit different," one person said of the visuals, while another added, "these photos look straight out of a movie."
Meanwhile a third wrote, "That is some beautiful art being created in the skies."
Local ABC station WTXL spoke with some residents in Tallahassee, who couldn't believe what they were seeing.
"Is that real?" said Nyagua Tut. "It looks, I don't want to say an asteroid, but something is moving for sure, and that's just a trail behind it."
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Although "jellyfish clouds" or "space jellyfish" aren't official terms, the atmospheric phenomenon, which occurs as light hits the contrail in a relatively dark sky, does have a striking resemblance to the invertebrates, hence the widely-used nicknames, according to The Weather Channel.
A similar occurrence happened in May 2022 when SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Kennedy Space Center at 5:40 in the morning. Photographer Kyle Morgan of K.Morgan Artistry snapped a beautiful picture of the moment.
In an interview with PEOPLE, Morgan said he took the photo at the "last minute" from his "favorite spot on Jekyll Island" and has been pleased with the public's reaction to it.
"I instantly knew it was going to be a good photo but had no idea it would get the attention it has," he explained.
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