Look up: A ‘space jellyfish’ could appear over North Georgia
How to see space jellyfish cloud Tuesday morning
Early risers across metro Atlanta and North Georgia may get a sky show Tuesday morning: a glowing plume from a SpaceX rocket launch that can look like a giant jellyfish drifting overhead. The launch is scheduled for 6:33 a.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
ATLANTA - Early risers across metro Atlanta and North Georgia may get a sky show Tuesday morning: a glowing plume from a SpaceX rocket launch that can look like a giant jellyfish drifting overhead.
What we know:
The launch is scheduled for 6:33 a.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The forecast calls for clear skies around launch time, which could make the plume visible from the region. Launch schedules can change.
The display happens when rocket exhaust expands high in the atmosphere and sunlight illuminates it before sunrise. Water vapor in the plume can freeze into ice particles in the upper atmosphere, helping create the broad, glowing shape and trailing strands that give the phenomenon its nickname.
Courtesy of Ava Brown in Reidsville, Georgia
People hoping to spot it should look toward the eastern or southeastern sky around 6:33 a.m. And if it looks a little otherworldly, there’s a straightforward explanation: it’s a rocket plume catching the morning sun, not a visitor from space.