(FOX40.COM) — A dazzling aerial phenomenon that captured the attention of many people across Northern California on Friday morning may be connected to a rocket launch from a Space Force base.
At around 6 a.m., a ball of multi-colored light with a massive tail flared over the Northern California sky. Several people emailed pictures of the unusual event to KRON4.com.
The unusual and colorful event is likely the product of a SpaceX launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, about 285 miles south of San Francisco.
At 6:07 a.m., a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from the Space Force base as part of SpaceX’s Starlink project, according to a Facebook post from the Space Force base.
The bright blue color is known as the twilight phenomenon when a rocket launch occurs 15 to 30 minutes after sunset or 15 to 30 minutes before sunrise.
When the rocket reaches the upper atmosphere, the exhaust particles condense, freeze and expand allowing low-angle sunlight to reflect off the particles.
According to the SpaceX website they have conducted 426 Falcon 9 missions with 382 landings and 355 reflights.
(FOX40.COM) — A dazzling aerial phenomenon that captured the attention of many people across Northern California on Friday morning may be connected to a rocket launch from a Space Force base. At around 6 a.m., a ball of multi-colored light with a massive tail flared over the Northern California sky. Several people emailed pictures of […]
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