SpaceX rocket launch creates incredible 'space jellyfish' visible throughout US East Coast (photos)

Rockets are launching to space on a near-daily basis these days, but short of livestreaming a liftoff from the comfort of your Wi-Fi router, relatively few spectators are in the right place and time to see one with their own eyes.

That wasn't the case Tuesday morning (Oct.

13), when SpaceX launched the CRS-35 mission for NASA .

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 6:35 a.m.

EDT (1035 GMT), carrying a cargo variant of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft on the company's 35th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

Following the northward path of the space station's orbit at the time, the rocket flew a trajectory along the United States' East Coast.

Falcon 9's expanding engine plume grew substantially wider than the rocket itself as it climbed in altitude into thinner, less dense air, and was illuminated by the early dawn light, making the sight visible to millions.

"You can imagine my surprise when I opened my back door to let the dogs out this morning," Ellen Alence told Space.com.

She snapped a pic of the rocket from her farm Colbert, Georgia.

"Many of you are talking about the 'space jellyfish' following this morning's launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida," NASA's Kennedy Space Center wrote in a post on X .

The post explains the "jellyfish" phenomenon that is sometimes visible during dawn and dusk launches, and included additional photos of the launch.

This morning’s SpaceX rocket launch, as seen from a farm in Colbert, Georgia.

Ellen Alence This morning’s SpaceX rocket launch, as seen from a farm in Colbert, Georgia.

Ellen Alence This morning’s SpaceX rocket launch, as seen from a farm in Colbert, Georgia.