Space fireworks - Giant Pink Clouds in the Sky

People in Japan this past Saturday and Sunday evenings were treated to a “space fireworks” show consisting of three balls of red light in the sky, each glowing as bright as the moon. These luminous orbs are the result of three clouds of lithium vapor released into the ionosphere by a rocket launched in an experiment to study the atmosphere. The red glow will be caused by sunlight striking the lithium vapor clouds as they disperse. “In the first few seconds after each lithium release, the light should become as large and bright as the moon,” says team member Masayuki Yamamoto, a professor at Kochi University of Technology.

Via Pink Tentacle

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