Marybeth Kiczenski
- SpaceX rockets are ripping brightly colored holes in the Earth's ionosphere.
- These phenomena have been studied for over 40 years.
- These are harmless, but may interrupt scientists trying to view the night sky.
SpaceX rocket launches are punching holes in part of Earth's atmosphere, called the ionosphere, and it's a beautiful sight to behold.
The holes appear as bright red blobs in the sky. Some are spherical while others appear like a bright smudge across the sky.
Recently, these spherical red blobs have been popping up over MacDonald Observatory in Texas, which has astronomers slightly worried for the future.