Valerie Hwang from Deming, New Mexico
The twilight launch of SpaceX’s Starlink Group 11-20 batch of satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California resulted in a plume visible up to 600 miles (1,000 km) away, captured here from New Mexico with an iPhone 15 Pro. The distinct profile of the exhaust — often called a “space jellyfish” — results from sunlight catching the exhaust plume as it expands rapidly into the thinner air at higher altitudes.