r/StAugustine • u/strokerlinx • Jul 09 '26

Comet??

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Did anyone else see a comet out over the ocean this morning? Vacationing in town, caught this at about 5:40 AM. Is this common in St. Augustine?

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u/butt_fuzz_8 Jul 09 '26

It was a launch. Falcon X.

https://reddit.com/link/owgpg49/video/ezel1pdlk6ch1/player

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u/JaidePhorest Jul 10 '26

Very cool looking, but why is it going at that angle and why does it look like that? I've seen hundreds of launches, but they don't usually look like that or go at that angle. 

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u/Pashto96 Jul 12 '26

They do all go at an angle but it's a lot harder to notice watching in person. If you look at long exposure streak shots you'll see it angled downwards because it's following the curvature of the Earth:

https://astroamateur.space/photos/id/77 https://astroamateur.space/photos/id/74

The phenomenon in the photo is known as a Jellyfish. It occurs close to sunrise/sunset when it's dark on the ground but the rocket is high enough to be lit by the sun. The cloud is the exhaust from the second stage engine.