What is a space jellyfish?

Unusual glowing light observed in the night sky across various parts of the country in April and May made Filipinos curious.

The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) already clarified that these are not UFOs, calling the phenomenon "space jellyfish."

Jellyfish in the sky? PhilSA said the glowing light recently observed in the Philippine sky was due to the passage of Chinese rockets.

Last April, China launched the Jielong-3 rocket and its passage produced unusual light. Likewise, the passage of China's Long March 6A on May 12 created the same phenomenon.

The passage of the rockets produced a luminous effect similar to a glowing jellyfish under the sea.

"The phenomenon is commonly called a 'space jellyfish', which occurs when a rocket's exhaust plume, released at high altitudes, is directly illuminated by sunlight while observers on the ground remain in darkness," said PhilSA.

"The expanding plume fans out in the thin upper atmosphere and scatters sunlight, creating a luminous, jellyfish-like glow visible over wide areas during twilight conditions," it added.

"Space jellyfish" is common during rocket launches. For instance, the launching of SpaceX Falcon 9 from Florida last March produced a blue "jellyfish" cloud in the night sky. — VDV, GMA News