If you got up early this morning, you may have witnessed quite a celestial spectacle, but it was not a repeat of the Northern Lights.

A SpaceX launch not only lit up the skies over Cape Canaveral, but also provided views of noctilucent clouds as far away as Tampa and southwest Florida.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 launched at 4:55 a.m. on Wednesday with the latest batch of Starlink satellites.

And then the amazing thing happened.

After just over eight minutes of flight time, the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket landed in a controlled and visible manner on the A lack of seriousness Drone ship out on the Atlantic.

The landing track, which is rarely seen during drone landings, was illuminated by sunlight just below the horizon for over an hour – leaving a colorful patch of sky next to a crescent moon and Jupiter.

These “noctilucent clouds” were visible from great distances and lucky early risers shared their photos on social media.

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But first an explanation:

What are noctilucent clouds?

According to the National Weather Service, noctilucent clouds, or noctilucent clouds, are located about 80 kilometers above the earth, much higher than ordinary clouds.

They are sometimes called polar mesospheric clouds.

According to the British Met Office, the formation of noctilucent clouds requires water vapor, dust and very low temperatures.

When a rocket launches, water vapor is released into the atmosphere.

Noctilucent clouds were first observed in 1885 after the eruption of Krakatoa. Their frequency and brightness are expected to increase and they will become visible at lower latitudes as a result of human activities and climate change.

SpaceX launch amazes viewers who share photos and videos on social media

Contributed by: Brooke Edwards, Florida Today

This article originally appeared in Treasure Coast Newspapers: Northern Lights? They are the glowing night clouds of the SpaceX launch in Florida