Why a Launch Near Dawn Leaves a Jellyfish in the Sky

A rocket can leave a sky-sized jellyfish behind it. A SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying a Dragon spacecraft lifted off on Oct. 13, 2026, and NASA photographed the exhaust plumes glowing in the shape the agency calls a jellyfish. The mechanism is sunlight, not chemistry: NASA says the effect happens near sunrise or sunset, when the plume from the rocket is brightly illuminated and takes on a jellyfish-like glow. Timing does the work — the exhaust has to be up there at the one part of the day when light is arriving at that angle. This particular launch left the pad at 6:33 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, carrying scientific investigations, supplies and equipment toward the International Space Station. It is a reminder that some of the best launch photography is not about the rocket at all, but about where the Sun happens to be standing.