{"id":591150,"date":"2026-02-15T06:33:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T06:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/591150\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T06:33:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T06:33:09","slug":"spacex-falcon-9-launch-creates-glowing-spiral-visible-across-victor-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/591150\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch Creates Glowing Spiral Visible Across Victor Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"

VICTOR VALLEY, Calif. (VVNG.com)<\/strong> \u2014 A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch Saturday evening created a striking spiral plume that lit up the sky across the High Desert, surprising residents throughout the Victor Valley.<\/p>\n

The rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on California\u2019s Central Coast as part of a Starlink mission carrying internet satellites into low-Earth orbit. <\/p>\n

Shortly after launch, observers across Southern California reported seeing a glowing streak followed by a swirling cloud formation that lingered in the twilight sky.<\/p>\n

The unusual spiral effect occurs when rocket exhaust expands and freezes at high altitude, reflecting sunlight even after sunset. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The phenomenon, sometimes called a \u201cspace jellyfish,\u201d is common during dusk launches and can be visible hundreds of miles from the launch site under clear conditions.<\/p>\n

Residents from Victorville, Hesperia, Apple Valley, and surrounding communities shared photos and videos of the spectacle on social media as the plume slowly drifted across the sky.<\/p>\n

SpaceX regularly launches Falcon 9 rockets from Vandenberg, with many of the missions supporting the company\u2019s Starlink satellite network designed to provide global high-speed internet coverage.<\/p>\n

Did you see the spiral in the sky Saturday night, and where were you when you noticed it?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 Victor Valley News Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n

\n \ud83d\udce2 Stay connected with the High Desert\u2019s largest news community!\n <\/p>\n

\n \ud83d\udd17 For more local news, visit VVNG.com<\/strong><\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

Note to readers: If you value our reporting and want to see it continue, consider becoming a monthly supporter. Your contribution helps keep independent, local news accessible to everyone. Support local news today!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"VICTOR VALLEY, Calif. (VVNG.com) \u2014 A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch Saturday evening created a striking spiral plume…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":591151,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8],"tags":[34517,188973,255547,255548,255549,2544,255550,255551,11097,255552,108923,159,255553,255554,104738,2527,255555,11182,67,132,68,226435,7680,255556,255557,255558],"class_list":["post-591150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-aerospace-news","tag-apple-valley-news","tag-california-aerospace","tag-california-launch","tag-evening-launch","tag-falcon-9","tag-hesperia-news","tag-high-desert-sky","tag-rocket-launch","tag-rocket-plume","tag-satellite-launch","tag-science","tag-southern-california-sky","tag-space-jellyfish","tag-space-launch","tag-spacex","tag-spiral-cloud","tag-starlink","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-vandenberg-launch","tag-vandenberg-space-force-base","tag-victor-valley","tag-victorville-news","tag-visible-launch-southern-california"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116073254656967507","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=591150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591150\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/591151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=591150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=591150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=591150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}