Space jellyfish – A strange flying object puzzles a professor!
Recommended for Preparatory Grades
A surveillance camera caught something strange flying through the sky early morning on May 5. Chris Combs, a professor at the University of Texas felt that the object looked like a space jellyfish. This is because it was bright, moved quickly, and left behind a bright, rectangular aura.
The identity of the mysterious object!
The mysterious object wasn’t a UFO. Instead, it was a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket taking off from Kennedy Space Center. Every year, dozens of rockets take off from the Kennedy Space Center’s launchpad, but only a few of them could be mistaken for a Space jellyfish.
SPACE JELLYFISH
— Chris Combs (@DrChrisCombs) May 6, 2022
From today’s SpaceX launch. Beautiful pic.twitter.com/98mzIGHDOm
Did physics and timing confuse the professor?
- Combs believes that a combination of physics and timing could have led to the confusion. He pointed out that the long, “body” of the jellyfish is just the exhaust coming from the rocket engine.
- The difference in pressure between the inside and outside of the nozzle is what makes the exhaust look like a balloon. This implies that the pressure of the gas is higher than the pressure of the air around it.
- Because the rocket launch happened early in the morning at around 5:45 a.m. local time sunlight shone through the clouds and lit up the exhaust, making it shine brightly against the dark night sky.
Space jellyfish!
A space jellyfish is a result of a rocket launch. It is made when sunlight reflects off the high altitude rocket gases that are released by a launching rocket at dawn or dusk. If one wants to see a real space jellyfish, one will have to go about 300 million light-years further into space.
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