The mysterious jellyfish-shaped flash of light seen in the evening sky on March 15 has now been explained. The unusual glow that sparked curiosity across several regions was caused by the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink satellites.
The rocket was launched by SpaceX from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at Space Launch Complex-40 on March 15 at 8:37 a.m. EDT. The mission carried 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into orbit.
Converted to India Standard Time (IST), the launch occurred at 7:07 p.m., which closely matches the time when people in several parts of India reported seeing the strange glowing formation in the sky around 7 p.m.
Experts say the unusual appearance occurred when the rocket’s upper stage released exhaust gases high in the atmosphere. As the gases expanded, they were illuminated by sunlight in the twilight sky while the ground below was already in darkness. This created a bright, expanding plume that resembled a glowing jellyfish.
Such visual phenomena can occasionally be seen over vast distances when atmospheric conditions and sunlight angles align. In certain circumstances, observers across the eastern hemisphere, including parts of India, can briefly witness the illuminated rocket plume high above the Earth.
A review of global launch records confirmed that the sight was linked to the Falcon 9 mission.
The Indian Space Research Organisation reported no rocket launches from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on March 15. Upcoming Indian missions such as GISAT-1A, Oceansat-3A and TDS-01 remain scheduled for later in 2026.
Similarly, there were no launches recorded that day from China, Russia, or the European Space Agency with flight paths over the Indian subcontinent. Meanwhile, the next test of SpaceX Starship is currently targeted for April 2026.
The spectacular sight triggered widespread discussion on social media, with many users sharing images and videos of the glowing formation. Experts have now confirmed that the phenomenon was a rare but natural visual effect produced during a rocket launch.
