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 US Navy was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral at 6.18am EDT (8.18pm AEST), 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 multicoloured glowing plume.
[ULA]