Special atmospheric conditions created amazing views for today’s United Launch Alliance launch as an Atlas V rocket carrying MUOS-4, the fourth Mobile User Objective System satellite for the U.S. Navy was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral at 6:18 a.m. EDT, just before sunrise.
What you can see above is the atmospheric smoke trail the rocket left behind as usual, but for now it became visible from the ground too because the sun lit it at a special angle, from under the horizon, creating a multicolored glowing plume.
[ULA]
