MANILA, Philippines — The lights sighted in some parts of the Philippines on the evening of Tuesday, May 12, were “highly likely” the result of the passage of a rocket launched by China.
The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) said the phenomenon, called a “space jellyfish,” occurs when a rocket’s exhaust plume released at high altitudes is directly illuminated by sunlight while observers on the ground remain in darkness.
A rocket plume is the high-speed exhaust trail of hot gas, steam and smoke produced by rocket engines. When it fans out in the thin upper atmosphere and scatters sunlight, it creates a “luminous, jellyfish-like glow.”
PhilSA said the glow becomes visible over wide areas during twilight conditions.
China launched its Long March 6A (Chang Sheng 6A) from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at about 7:58 p.m. Tuesday.
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Previous rocket launches from China have triggered concerns that debris from separating rocket parts could pose serious consequences to people and marine life.
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Since 2022, China has launched several rockets, many of which had designated drop zones in the waters off Palawan or in the West Philippine Sea, within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
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But PhilSA said that, unlike recent rocket launches from China’s coastal spaceports, no debris drop zones from the latest launch were projected over the Philippines. /dm