The Brief

LOS ANGELES - Did you see it?

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket created a stunning and rare "jellyfish" effect in the sky Sunday.

The phenomenon was visible across parts of the western U.S. from Los Angeles to Phoenix , as the rocket ascended through the upper atmosphere.

The backstory:

The spectacle followed a Starlink launch from Vandenberg Space Force Station near Lompoc.

The rocket lifted off at 11:04 p.m. EDT and carried 28 new Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit.

The "jellyfish" effect occurs when the exhaust plume of a rocket expands as it ascends into the less dense upper atmosphere.

The clear skies over Vandenberg on Sunday provided ideal conditions for the phenomenon to emerge, despite the base's reputation for foggy weather.

By the numbers:

This was the

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