ORLANDO, Fla. – Several News 6 PinIt! users spotted something interesting in the night sky early Tuesday.
The photos showed wispy-looking clouds in front of a bright moon. The PinIt! pictures were taken in several Central Florida locations, including Palatka, Oviedo and Cocoa.
According to News 6 partner Florida Today, the landing trail of a Falcon 9 booster onto the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship created “noctilucent clouds.”
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According to NASA, the “night-shining” clouds are also known as polar mesospheric clouds and form about 50 miles above the Earth’s surface. They are best seen at twilight.
These clouds need water vapor, dust and low temperatures to form. Timed with the sun still below the horizon, this is what creates these iridescent-looking clouds, according to News 6 Chief Meteorologist Candace Campos.
“The trailing clouds, made up mostly of suspended ice crystals, from the SpaceX rocket reflected the sunlight, which brightens the clouds against the dark night sky,” Candace said.
The SpaceX launch happened early Wednesday. A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station with 20 Starlink satellites.
If you took any photos of the sky, don’t forget to share them with us on PinIt!
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