This is an example of a Twilight Phenomenon. An excerpt taken from wikipedia is posted below:
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A Twilight phenomenon is produced when unburned particles of missile or rocket propellant and water left in the vapor trail of a launch vehicle condenses, freezes and then expands in the less dense upper atmosphere. The exhaust plume, which is suspended against a dark sky is then illuminated by reflective high altitude sunlight, which produces a spectacular, colorful effect when seen at ground level. The phenomenon typically occurs with launches that take place either 30 to 60 minutes before sunrise or after sunset when a booster rocket or missile rises out of the darkness and into a sunlit area, relative to an observer's perspective on the ground.
This phenomenon usually produces a cloud of green, blue, white and rose colored hues which takes on a corkscrew appearance as it is whipped around by wind currents. It is seen within two to three minutes after a launch has occurred. Depending on weather conditions, it could remain in the sky for up to half an hour before dispersing.
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The above picture was taken at Tranquillon Peak in northern Santa Barbara county. The twilight phenomenon lights up the night sky over Vandenberg AFB following the launch of an unarmed Minuteman III missile on Sept. 19, 2002.
Only a small percentage of the malfunctioning missiles would create this twilight phenomenon as most of them would have been destroyed by a Range Safety Officer.
Nonetheless, it's truly a sight to behold if I could be there to witness it first-hand. That would be so spectacular. We could never have this kind of sight in Singapore as our army do not fire missiles so openly. Even if they do, pictures such as these would probably have been destroyed before they could be circulated.
For now, I can only envy the beauty on my laptop screen but that's enough.
=)
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