Strangers light shows It’s been a phenomenon known for rocket launches for years. But as humanity rapidly increases the number of objects thrown into space – More people are witnessing these occurrences inadvertently.
“We are not used to seeing things that happen in space in these (atmospheric) densities so low,” said Jonathan McDowell, astrophysicist and astronomer of the Harvard-Smithsonian center of astrophysics, referring to the rarefied atmosphere at high altitudes and orbit.
When a Spacex Falcon 9 rocket took off from Florida last week – flying northeast direction towards the terrestrial orbit to launch a spy satellite to the US army – it provided a real show for millions in the UK and the European continent.
Shortly after release, social networking users began reporting “strange forms” dancing in the sky.
The scene was “probably caused by Spacex’s Falcon 9 rocket,” according to an X -shared publication, the United Kingdom National Meteorological Service after the launch.
The images that spread virally remembered the phenomenon of the “jellyfish”, which has already followed some Spacex releases from Florida and California. Visible from the back of North America, the “jellyfish” is marked by a huge gout-shaped light-shaped light trail and extends as the rocket advances.
Despite the similarities, experts claim that the phenomena of “jellyfish” and spiral are distinct.
A ghostly spiral
The mysterious spiral, similar to a bat signal, which followed the launch of the Spacex Military Satellite on March 24, graduated after the rocket had already delivered. The vehicle was preparing to get out of the orbit and reent the earth’s atmosphere, spinning toward a safe reentry in the ocean – and leaving fuel behind.
These maneuvers, made to discard parts of the rocket, are common after releases. Falcon 9 is designed to divide into two parts – or “stages.”
The first stage is the lower part of the rocket, with nine engines that are triggered in takeoff, boosting the 70 meter (230 feet) vehicle out of the ground. This first stage is also what Spacex usually land back and reuse, saving resources.
The second stage, or upper stage, is designed to drive its own engine.
This final stage provides the impulse necessary to carry the load – whether a satellite or a manned capsule – to the speed required to orbit around the earth, usually more than 28,163 km/h (17,500 miles per hour).
But after the orbit trip on March 24, the second stage of Spacex Falcon 9 was still on board fuel that needed to be discarded.
“Release the remaining fuel is basically a precaution to security and often a preparation for the reentry (from the second stage of the rocket) and its return to the ocean,” explained Dr. Christopher Combs, Vice Rector of Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design at the University of Texas in San Antonio.
Thus, the second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket begins to rotate, throwing its fuel into space while still moving, creating the growing spiral in the sky.
It is a phenomenon that McDowell describes as the “garden hose effect” – similar to when a hose is turned on and it begins to squirm and swing as water.
Expanding jellyfish
The jellyfish phenomenon, often spotted in the Americas after Spacex releases, is “similar, but in fact a distinctly different phenomenon,” said Combs.
This spectacle is caused by the exhaustion feather emanating from the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket during the climb, while the rocket and its load are still on their way to the orbital insertion point, McDowell explained.
The shape of jellyfish results from the growth and dispersion of exhaustion plume as the engine burns, creating that flutch and luminous appearance in the sky.
It seems very different from how exhaustion appears near the ground: when the rocket begins to be released from the base, the discharge comes out in a narrow trail. But when the vehicle begins to burn fuel in the high atmosphere, there is less air for exhaustion to collide – so it does not remain contained in a narrow trail.
Instead, “you see this big bubble” that grows and expands, creating the jellyfish effect, McDowell explained.
The ideal conditions
Both the jellyfish and spiral phenomenon require specific lighting conditions to be visible to the naked eye. The person who observes needs to be in a dark place, while the rocket is at high altitude, capturing the rays of the sun beyond the horizon.
“It usually happens early in the evening or at dawn, not in the middle of the night,” said McDowell.
In addition, he noted that these light shows can fool our brain, making it appear that rockets are much closer to the ground than they really are.
“We are so used to seeing planes that, unconsciously, when we see something like this in the sky, we think it is not much higher than a plane,” McDowell said about the spiral phenomenon. Observers may find that the rocket is “perhaps 15 or 30 kilometers altitude, when it is actually over 300 kilometers.”
How to see the shine of a rocket
Being able to see one of those rocket -related light shows can be difficult as it depends on exact time – and a little luck.
But the number of releases has increased rapidly – from less than 150 per year in the 20th century to over 250 last year, according to statistics compiled by McDowell.
And Combs said he expects the public to continue fascinated by the strange light effects caused by the rockets.
“I love it when people are interested in space,” he said. “I encourage everyone to continue asking questions.”
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This content was originally published in a mysterious spiral illuminates heavens from Europe; Understand frequency of the phenomenon on the CNN Brazil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
Charles Grill is a tech-savvy writer with over 3 years of experience in the field. He writes on a variety of technology-related topics and has a strong focus on the latest advancements in the industry. He is connected with several online news websites and is currently contributing to a technology-focused platform.
