All morning I keep seeing pictures of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in my social media feeds. The rocket is on its way to the International Space Sation to deliver supplies. The now-signature jellyfish cloud was visible in much of the southeastern and eastern U.S. Here’s the science behind the cloud and a reflection on why people do not see them as conspiracy chemtrails.

What Causes The Jellyfish Cloud?

“The jellyfish effect is when the Falcon 9 rocket’s (or any rocket’s) exhaust plume grows and creates a jellyfish-like “cloud” from the exhaust that has a glowing appearance if the launch is near dawn and dusk,” wrote Anthony Leone on the SpectrumNews 13 website last year. My colleague Maureen McCann further explained the role of clear skies, visibility, and the sun. The residual exhaust plume is illuminated by the sun, which is below the horizon.

At very high altitudes, it is quite cold. Vapor exhaust from the rocket can freeze into ice crystals. The process of gas changing to directly to the solid phase is called deposition. The sunlight interacts with the ice crystals because of its position relative to the horizon to put on the stunning visual show.

Conceptually, the process is very similar to the process of condensation or “contrails” forming from the exhaust of airplanes. Oddly, some people seem to think contrails are some conspiracy-laden chemtrails when they are simply representations of basic physics. It’s not exactly the same process, but you probably have seen a cloud form when you breathe on a cold day. That happens when the warm, moist air from your mouth is cold to the condensation point quickly.

“When you step outside into cold temperatures and exhale, the cold air around you doesn’t give off enough energy to keep the water molecules moving around,” noted the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis website. “This causes the moisture in your breath to condense (change into either liquid or solid forms of water), forming a little cloud in the air,” It continued. The website noted that you can typically see this happen at temperatures below 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

I wonder why some people accept the SpaceX rocket contrails , but question the ones coming from the numerous airplane flights each day. Things that make you go hmmmmm.