3 ms·

A few frames of the video caught my eye: https://screenshots.firefox.com/eOm06NUSg0CSkb1a/arstechnica.com https://screenshots.firefox.com/eOm06NUSg0CSkb1a/arste

• paulyg 9y ago
  Its supersonic shock waves. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_diamond https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_diamond
• trothamel 9y ago
  I believe those are Mach/Shock diamonds, which are common in rocket engine exhaust. It wouldn't surprise me if the propellant and the time of the test made them more visible. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_diamond https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_diamond
  • tim333 9y ago
    As also seen on page 2 of "Ignition" with page 3 showing some other interesting rocket effects. http://library.sciencemadness.org/library/books/ignition.pdf http://library.sciencemadness.org/library/books/ignition.pdf
• fkfk 9y ago
  They are called shock diamonds and are caused by standing shock waves in the exhaust plume: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_diamond https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_diamond