A strange sight in the sky Wednesday morning caught the attention of many viewers who posted pictures on SnapJax of iridescent clouds shining in the night sky.
The vapor clouds came from a SpaceX rocket that lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 4:34 AM.
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The cloud phenomenon occurs during sunrise or sunset twilight when the night sky is dark at the ground and the high-altitude sunlight illuminates the rockets freezing expanding exhaust particles in the upper atmosphere.
Initially, the cloud trail conforms exactly to the path taken by the rocket, but it can eventually be displaced by these air currents resulting in different shapes over time.
Upper winds change direction with height causing the twisting corkscrew cloud configuration.
Sometimes the patterns can linger in the sky for an hour before dispersing depending on the weather patterns.
This launch resulted in clouds farther south compared to summer launches when launch paths aim toward the northeast from Cape Canaveral.
SpaceX considers sea conditions when planning its winter rocket launches and often directs the trajectory of the rocket further south to make it easier for the Falcon 9′s first-stage booster to return smoothly to an offshore drone ship.