STEVE JASIECKI/As seen from the Margate causeway, a pink cloud hovers over the southern sky.
By STEVE JASIECKI
MARGATE – Wednesday evening, March 3, just after sunset, you may have noticed a pink cloud suspended over the southern sky. What started out looking like a white cloud reflecting the warm colors of sunset grew in intensity as the sun sank below the horizon.
If you saw this you would have soon realized this was not a usual cloud. The cloud changed from a light pink to a deep rosy pink as the light faded and night began.
A three-stage suborbital sounding rocket was launched in the afternoon on March 3, 2021, for the Department of Defense from NASA’s launch range at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
The cloud was the result of an experiment from a rocket that was launched from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. According to the NASA website, “The launch will study ionization in space just beyond the reaches of Earth’s atmosphere. The rocket released a small amount of vapor several hundred miles high and about 500 miles offshore. There is no danger to public health or the Earth’s environment from the vapor release.”
The cloud was surreal as it lingered in the sky contrasting with the royal blue of twilight. It could be seen along the mid-Atlantic and southeastern United States before it faded away as the sky turned dark.
Rockets launched from the Wallops Flight Facility can be seen from New Jersey. A night launch can be quite spectacular as the rocket blazes its way across the sky and into space.
You can learn more about The Wallops Launch Facility and when launches are scheduled by visiting https://www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/about/index.html
