Shiny clouds lingered within the Florida sky within the hours after SpaceX launched its newest mission from the House Coast early Thursday morning (Jan. 26).
SpaceX launched 56 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral House Drive Station in Florida at 4:32 a.m. EST (0932 GMT). The predawn launch produced noctilucent clouds that had been seen after the launch, in keeping with native reviews posted on Twitter.
“These by no means get outdated and are completely different after each launch,” posted (opens in new tab) meteorologist Wright Dobbs, who considered the clouds from Tallahassee, a four-hour drive away from the launch website, which is close to Orlando.
Noctilucent clouds are uncommon high-altitude clouds that may additionally seem naturally, however solely when particular circumstances are fulfilled. Normally they’re seen in the summertime months, after sundown, and are distinctive wispy streaks that stand out from different cloud varieties.
Associated: SpaceX’s Starlink megaconstellation launches in photos
It is common for SpaceX launches to go away behind intriguing sky patterns, together with “space jellyfish” or spiral shapes excessive within the sky. These are innocent results ensuing from rocket gases excessive within the environment.
SpaceX has launched six instances this 12 months up to now and will get to 100 liftoffs overall in 2023 throughout its varied packages, together with launches to the International Space Station with astronauts on board, in addition to forthcoming alternatives with the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy and doubtlessly the enormous Starship Mars rocket, which continues to be in improvement.
Editor’s notice: When you captured a surprising view of the SpaceX launch and wish to share it for a picture gallery or story, tell us! You may ship pictures and feedback in to spacephotos@space.com .
Comply with Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace (opens in new tab) . Comply with us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or Fb.
