© Photo: social media / Luminous hazy cloud observed from Sevastopol
A prominent hazy formation observed in the evening sky over southern regions of Russia was the result of a rocket launch from California, explained astronomer Stas Korotky, scientific director of the Ka-Dar Observatory.
«According to him, it was most likely the second stage of a Falcon 9 rocket.»
Photos of the jellyfish-like luminous cloud were widely shared on social media by residents of southern Russia, including Crimea, Krasnodar Krai, and Zaporizhzhia Oblast. It traversed Eastern Europe from south to north at 10:24 PM Moscow time. Shortly before this, at 9:13 PM Moscow time, a Falcon 9 rocket carrying ten satellites launched into a sun-synchronous orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
The astronomer attributed the phenomenon to the expulsion of superheated gases, illuminated by the Sun, which was already below the horizon for observers at that moment.
He also noted that satellites are launched into such orbits to study Earth`s magnetic field.
