Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2026 March 19 [2]A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch produces a glowing cloud, reminiscent of a jellyfish. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Launch Plume: SpaceX Jellyfish Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Michael Seeley Text: [5]Cecilia Chirenti ([6]NASA [7]GSFC, [8]UMCP, [9]CRESST II) Explanation: Even if you live with your [10]head in the clouds, you won’t find a [11]jellyfish like this one very often. The [12]featured image shows a [13]SpaceX [14]Falcon 9 rocket launch from [15]Cape Canaveral in [16]Florida on March 4. The launch happened 52 minutes before [17]sunrise, and the [18]second stage rocket [19]exhaust plume was high enough in the sky to catch the light of the [20]rising sun, while the photographer was still in the dark. This combination of light and shadow, possible at [21]dawn or dusk, makes the exhaust, mostly [22]water vapor and [23]carbon dioxide, appear as a glowing cloud. It only looks like it's going down, as the rocket follows the [24]curvature of the Earth on its way to [25]space. A related effect is the [26]twilight phenomenon, which causes colorful [27]contrails sometimes [28]mistaken for UFOs. But, in case you are wondering: real [29]jellyfish were sent to space by [30]NASA in the 1990s as part of a [31]science experiment. Tomorrow's picture: day and night __________________________________________________________________ [32]< | [33]Archive | [34]Submissions | [35]Index | [36]Search | [37]Calendar | [38]RSS | [39]Education | [40]About APOD | [41]Discuss | [42]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [43]Robert Nemiroff ([44]MTU) & [45]Jerry Bonnell ([46]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [47]Specific rights apply. [48]NASA Web Privacy, [49]Accessibility, [50]Notices; A service of: [51]ASD at [52]NASA / [53]GSFC, [54]NASA Science Activation & [55]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2603/jellyfish.jpg 3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 4. https://www.mseeley.net/ 5. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sci/bio/cecilia.bertonimarthahadlerchirenti 6. https://www.nasa.gov/ 7. https://www.nasa.gov/goddard/ 8. https://www.astro.umd.edu/people/cecilia-chirenti 9. https://cresst2.umd.edu/ 10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VXERT7uu3Y 11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_jellyfish 12. https://www.flickr.com/photos/76093456@N04/55129715198 13. https://www.spacex.com/ 14. https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/falcon-9 15. https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/ 16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida 17. https://www.weather.gov/box/sunmoon 18. https://www.nasa.gov/history/75-years-ago-first-launch-of-a-two-stage-rocket/ 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251015.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240921.html 21. https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/time/when-dawn-dusk-twilight 22. https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/global-maps/water-vapor/ 23. https://science.nasa.gov/earth/explore/earth-indicators/carbon-dioxide/ 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230513.html 25. https://www.nasa.gov/general/where-does-space-begin-we-asked-a-nasa-scientist-episode-43/ 26. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_phenomenon 27. https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/criss-crossing-contrails-80476/ 28. https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/news/39/ 29. https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/jellyfish-and-comb-jellies 30. https://www.nasa.gov/ 31. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/what-space-jellyfish-tell-us-about-interplanetary-travel/ 32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260318.html 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 36. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 38. https://apod.com/feed.rss 39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 40. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 41. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260319 42. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260320.html 43. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 44. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 45. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 46. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 47. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 48. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 49. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 50. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/ 51. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 52. https://www.nasa.gov/ 53. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 54. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 55. http://www.mtu.edu/