Colorful clouds in the skies of the Levant... What is their connection to the missiles?

Arab Weather - In a rare and dazzling scene, residents of Jordan and the Levant observed a "strange luminous cloud" in the sky last night, extending and changing colors in twisting patterns. This phenomenon, scientifically known as the Rocket Twilight Plume, is associated with rocket launches into space during twilight.

How does this phenomenon form?

It all starts when a rocket takes off, with its engine firing a mixture of water vapor, carbon dioxide, and fine particles into the upper atmosphere, known as the rocket exhaust plume.

When the exhaust reaches high altitudes such as the stratosphere, mesosphere, or even the thermosphere (about 80 km or more), the pressure drops dramatically and the exhaust expands widely.

With this rapid expansion, the water vapor suddenly cools and turns into tiny ice crystals, forming a distinctive cloud resembling a thin fog.
Although the sun has set from our perspective on Earth's surface, the upper layers of the atmosphere remain illuminated. Here, the rocket cloud glows due to reflected light, appearing in dazzling colors such as blue, pink, or gold, depending on the angle of illumination and the density of the particles.

Winds and temperature differences in the upper atmosphere cause the cloud to swirl and form strange shapes, sometimes resembling jellyfish, in what is known as the "Jellyfish Effect," making the phenomenon appear like a moving work of art in the sky.

This phenomenon is one of the most prominent things that can be documented during dawn or sunset launches, especially from areas close to missile launch sites.