With apologies to the Rolling Stones, this Photo of the Week is a gas, gas, gas

[Buster's Uncle]

Florida Today
With apologies to the Rolling Stones, this Photo of the Week is a gas, gas, gas
Britt Kennerly, Florida Today
Sat, November 8, 2025 at 5:03 AM EST
1 min read



Gases from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket create patterns in the sky as the booster separates from the second stage. The rocket, launched at 1:09am from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station November 2, 2025 carried the Bandwagon 4 ridesharing mission to orbit. Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK


Liftoff after liftoff, there's still always something new and wonderful about launch days on the Space Coast.

For those whose job it is to document those days, and nights, and early mornings, too, landing a photo which stands out can be a challenge.

FLORIDA TODAY photographer Craig Bailey has shot countless (and that's just this year!) launches over several decades.

But in this artsy, cool Photo of the Week, snagged after the Nov. 2 launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, he captures an effect that’s not always this pretty — or seen at all.

The photo may run rings around other shots some of us get, like those blurry dots taken with an iPhone, but it's easily explainable, Bailey said.

To lift a line from the Rolling Stones: In fact, it’s a gas. Or, more specifically, gases creating patterns in the sky.

"That's just a frame from what happens sometimes if the atmospheric conditions are correct, when the booster separates from the second stage of a Falcon 9," he said.

"It’s generally very pretty, but not always visible."

Happily, in this case, it was both. And the result: It’s a gas, gas, gas.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: This Photo of the Week begs the Stones line 'In fact it's a gas'