Early morning rocket launch created unusual glowing cloud seen by residents from multiple locations.
LENOIR CITY, Tenn. (SMOKIES.LIVE) — Residents across East Tennessee reported seeing a mysterious glowing object in the sky early Thursday morning, but the unusual sight was not a meteor or an unknown object — it was a rocket launch creating what is known as the “jellyfish effect.”
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Jacob Cooper was traveling along Highway 70 in Lenoir City around 5:32 a.m. when he noticed a bright glow in the sky.
“I initially thought it was the moon poking through the clouds, until I realized there weren’t any clouds in the sky,” Cooper said. “It appeared to be moving away from me at such a speed that I could physically tell it was moving away until it just disappeared in a poof.”
Cooper captured an image of the phenomenon and asked what could have caused the unusual display.
The sight was caused by a SpaceX rocket launch, as the vehicle’s exhaust plume expanded and reflected sunlight high in the atmosphere. The effect gets its nickname because the glowing plume can spread outward and resemble the shape of a jellyfish drifting through the sky.
The phenomenon is most visible shortly before sunrise or shortly after sunset, when the rocket is illuminated by the sun while the ground below remains dark.
Similar displays have been reported across large portions of the Southeast during SpaceX launches, with residents often mistaking the glowing plume for a meteor, cloud formation or other unexplained object.
For many East Tennessee residents who caught a glimpse Thursday morning, the unusual sight provided a rare look at a rocket launch from hundreds of miles away.
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