Rocket Lab said what residents are seeing is commonly known as a "space jellyfish", which is a visual phenomenon that could happen when sunlight reflects off the exhaust plume from rocket's engines. Photo: Supplied/Ricci Wesselink
Photos and videos of a lingering white plume, shaped like a tadpole, against a purple pre-dawn sky, posted to social media by Bay of Plenty residents have captured the result of a Rocket Launch from Mahia Peninsula on Wednesday morning.
Rocket Lab said it successfully launched "Electron" as part of its Owl New World mission, about 5.33am on Wednesday.
A photo of the lingering white plume. Photo: Supplied
The launch was done for Japanese company Synspective - a Synthetic Apeture Radar (SAR) satellite data and analytics company.
Rocket Lab said what residents are seeing is commonly known as a "space jellyfish", which is a visual phenomenon that could happen when sunlight reflects off the exhaust plume from rocket's engines.
Photo: Supplied
The images have spurred discussions on the Tauranga, Papamoa and Mount community page on Facebook, with one resident describing it as a "sky whale", and another posting "a sperm lost in space".
RNZ has also received news tips from people who have taken photos of the phenomena, including from a resident south of Hamilton.
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