Today Soyuz TMA 19M launches from Baikonur, and Irkutsk residents will be able to see a bright fast moving satellite in the sky. Though the glowing jellyfish cloud will not appear over the city, observers may still spot and photograph the rocket trail if the weather permits.
Today, on December 15 at 14:03 Moscow time, the crewed spacecraft Soyuz TMA-19M will launch from Baikonur. What is unusual about this? The fact that the horizon will be illuminated by an extraordinarily bright glow, and mysterious traces of a fantastic shape may even appear!Science explains this phenomenon rather prosaically: the rocket’s exhaust gases interact with air molecules and begin to glow. Scientists simply call it a “jellyfish,” and each time it takes on bizarre forms. Unfortunately, residents of Irkutsk will not see the winding lines in the sky, but they will be able to make out the movement of a bright satellite in the sky above Irkutsk.
- The third stage engine shuts down westward, over the Altai, so we will not see such impressive "UFOs" as our neighbors usually do, - commented Irkutsk astronomer Sergey Yazev. - But there is a chance to see a bright fast satellite moving across the entire sky from west to east, surrounded by a hazy bright cloud of expelled fuel vapors, if the weather permits. A few minutes after liftoff at Baikonur, it will pass over Irkutsk. It will be possible to see and photograph it, but the "jellyfish" will not appear in the city.