Alan Hanstein, director of the Challenger Learning Center, caught the SpaceX jellyfish in the skies over Tallahassee.
Alan Hanstein
USA TODAY Network, Reuters
Many Florida residents who awoke before the sun were treated to an amazing sight in the clear October sky.
Tallahasseeans looked up, marveled at what they saw and captured the so-called SpaceX “jellyfish” in action.
The phenomenon occurs when a launch is illuminated by the sun hitting the rocket’s contrail – or plume of exhaust – while an observer is in relative local darkness.
This is at least the third time the creation of billionaire Elon Musk has thrilled sky watchers in Tallahassee – though this time may have been the most vivid view yet. It was also spotted in March and July.
“I don’t know what this is in the sky. But here is what I saw this morning. Otherworldly and beautiful,” said Mark Zeigler on Facebook.
“Oh gosh, if you missed this, you missed one of the most beautiful launches in a long time,” said Ben Hall, a regular SpaceX spotter from Blountstown.
Did you get a photo of the jellyfish? Share it with us and the community by emailing news@tallahassee.com.
What is a SpaceX jellyfish?
The proof of launch that is often described as looking like a jellyfish, a noctilucent cloud formed by the SpaceX Falcon rocket launch miles away.
After a good launch in perfect conditions like Tuesday morning, images of the high-atmosphere cloud flood cyberspace with varying views of the ghostly jellyfish, or dissolving heart, or glowing lasso, looping in the sky.
Inspire Weather meteorologist Brian LaMarre described the cloud “familiar yet breathtaking.”
“They become more meteorologically and astronomically magical when it is dark because people aren’t used to seeing clouds light up like that,” LaMarre said.
Noctilucent clouds form more than 50 miles up in the atmosphere – higher than Mount Everest and above commercial airplanes – and are created by water vapor from the SpaceX rocket exhaust. The water vapor freezes in the frigid temperatures of the mesosphere, which can be as cold as 150 to 200 degrees below zero.
What was the SpaceX mission that caused the celestial lightshow?
An early-morning SpaceX Falcon 9 launch from Florida sent a cargo-filled Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station – and also delivered sonic booms to the Space Coast and jellyfish sightings from across the East Coast and Florida.
Liftoff was on schedule at 6:33 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Even before liftoff, photographer John Kraus’ Space Jellyfish predictor determined that if conditions are clear, the sunlight below the horizon will illuminate the rocket’s exhaust perfectly, resulting in a colorful “jellyfish” effect in the skies across multiple states and many cities.
SpaceX CRS-35 is the company’s 35th resupply mission for NASA under the Commercial Resupply Services contract. The Cargo Dragon spacecraft will carry approximately 6,500 pounds of supplies and scientific payloads to astronauts onboard the International Space Station.
The Cargo Dragon spacecraft will dock at approximately 11 a.m. Oct. 15 to the Zenith Port of the ISS.
Kim Miller and Brooke Edwards contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Did you spot the SpaceX jellyfish over Tallahassee? It was a marvel
Reporting by William L. Hatfield, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect
This story was originally published October 13, 2026 at 9:03 AM.