A mysterious light streaking across the night sky in Pangasinan last weekend sparked curiosity online.
The Pangasinan Youth for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) on Saturday, April 11 reported that a “possible ‘space jellyfish’ created by a rocket launch” was spotted in the province.
The comments section was filled with videos and photos taken by Filipinos who also spotted the phenomenon.
“Mabilao, San Fabian, mga 7:35 p.m. po,” a Facebook user commented.
“‘Yun pala nakita ng anak ko kanina kaya takbo siya agad, hahaha, natakot,” another wrote.
“Spotted: Villasis,” another Pinoy shared.
“Ito po ba ‘yon?” a different Facebook user asked.
“Ito po ba ‘yun?” another Pinoy asked.
“Spotted Patar, Bolinao,” another said.
Earth Shaker, a youth-oriented science organization, confirmed that the phenomenon was caused by a rocket launch of China‘s Jielong-3 (Smart Dragon-3), a commercial rocket used to deploy satellites.
It also explained how the “space jellyfish” phenomenon occurs.
“Nangyayari ito kapag ang rocket ay nasa mataas na altitude habang ang araw ay papalubog o kasisikat pa lang. Kahit madilim na sa lupa, naiilawan pa rin ng araw ang exhaust plume ng rocket,” the organization said.
“Dahil dito, nagiging maliwanag at kumakalat ang usok kaya nagmumukhang parang jellyfish sa langit,” it added.
“Sa madaling salita, ilaw ng araw [plus] rocket exhaust [plus] tamang anggulo [equals] space jellyfish effect,” Earth Shaker explained.
The Philippine Space Agency likewise confirmed the Chinese rocket launch, saying it was “highly likely due to the passage of the Jielong-3 rocket launched by the People’s Republic of China from the South China Sea at approximately 7:32 p.m. Philippine Standard Time.”
A report from China Global Television Network said that the Jielong-3 was launched from the waters near Guangdong Province.
It said that the activity was conducted for satellite internet technology purposes.
“China launched the Jielong-3 carrier rocket from waters near Guangdong Province, sending a new group of satellites into a preset orbit on April 11,” the report said.
