Astronomers have discovered a new type of aurora when a SpaceX rocket fell, creating temporary holes in the ionosphere.
During its descent, the SpaceX rocket spiraled down, causing temporary holes in the upper atmosphere and creating bright red spots in the sky, according to Live Science.
A large red streak left when the SpaceX rocket punctured a hole in the ionosphere above Arizona in July – (Photo: LIVE SCIENCE).
These “SpaceX auroras” resemble glowing red balls that move, forming streaks similar to the northern lights. Scientists are now warning that they could pose unforeseen issues for astronomy, although they do not threaten the environment or life on Earth.
For decades, researchers have known that launching rockets into space can create holes in the upper ionosphere—a layer of the atmosphere located 80 to 644 km above the Earth’s surface, where gases are ionized or stripped of electrons.
These “ionospheric holes” can excite gas molecules in this atmospheric layer, producing red streaks reminiscent of auroras.
For example, in July, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Starlink satellite into orbit tore a hole above Arizona (USA), making the sky appear to bleed.
In September, a rocket from the United States Space Force also accidentally punctured an ionospheric hole above California, creating a faint red glow.
Stephen Hummel, an astronomer and community outreach coordinator at the McDonald Observatory, told Spaceweather.com that astronomers first detected a SpaceX aurora above the observatory in February and are currently observing “2 to 5 of them each month.”
He added that the red balls are “very bright” and “easily visible to the naked eye.”
Additionally, SpaceX’s rockets also spin and dump leftover fuel into space before they leave orbit, creating small clouds of ice crystals.
These crystals sometimes reflect sunlight back to Earth, and the illuminated fuel creates spiral light trails in the night sky, known as “SpaceX spirals.”
Both the rocket’s ascent and the booster leaving orbit cause ionospheric holes as they release fuel into the ionosphere, causing ionized oxygen atoms to recombine or revert to regular gas molecules.
This transformation excites the molecules and causes them to emit red light, similar to how gases are excited by solar radiation in traditional aurora displays.
