If you see red holes in the sky, don't panic. When SpaceX rockets re-enter the Earth's atmosphere, they create temporary holes in the ionosphere, leading to glowing red circles of light. These holes form because the rocket's engine burns release exhaust gases like water and carbon dioxide at high altitudes. This process causes ionized oxygen atoms to turn back into gas molecules, which emit a red glow, creating a brief but bright aurora. These holes in the ionosphere usually close up within 10 to 20 minutes as the molecules re-ionize.
Credit:
Hunga Tonga: Tonga Geological Services, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/..., https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Tonga: Japan Meteorological Agency (satellite), Digital Typhoon (website), https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Aurora: Phiteros, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Optical Steve: Elfiehall, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Pinus: Mika-Pekka Markkanen, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Pollen seeds: Deni Ingilizovski, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
NASA GSFC/CIL/Krystofer Kim
NASA/JSC
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