The key facts
- A glowing dome-shaped cloud appeared above the Great Wall in Shanxi province
- The phenomenon occurred after the launch of a Long March-6A rocket from the Taiyuan spaceport
- The rocket placed the Yaogan-50 03 remote sensing satellite into orbit
Glowing cloud over Shanxi
An unusual glowing cloud resembling a giant jellyfish was spotted above the Great Wall in China's Shanxi province. The phenomenon appeared after the launch of a Long March-6A carrier rocket, reports the CGTN television channel. The published footage shows a giant dome of an orange-red hue rising above the historic structure; the video was also shared by the NEXTA account on X.
Cause of the phenomenon
The cause was a launch from the Taiyuan spaceport: the carrier successfully placed into orbit the Yaogan-50 03 remote sensing satellite. According to CGTN's explanation, upon reaching the upper layers of the atmosphere, the rocket engine's exhaust gases expand rapidly due to the low pressure, forming a huge dome-shaped cloud. Sunlight scattering in the atmosphere illuminates it against the darkening sky — this is how the effect of a floating 'space jellyfish' emerges.
Context
In this regard, Life.ru recalled its earlier report about a mysterious silent UFO spotted by US federal law enforcement officers: according to declassified Pentagon documents, a matte-black triangular object rose vertically, hovered over a mountain ridge, then abruptly accelerated and disappeared; witnesses claimed it moved at fighter-jet speed without any sound. Unlike that case, the Chinese phenomenon has a confirmed explanation — it is directly linked to the rocket launch, showing how routine launches can produce spectacular atmospheric effects.
