Posted on 12/22/2021 2:35:29 PM PST by MtnClimber
Explanation: Birds don't fly this high. Airplanes don't go this fast. The Statue of Liberty weighs less. No species other than human can even comprehend what is going on, nor could any human just a millennium ago. The launch of a rocket bound for space is an event that inspires awe and challenges description. Pictured here, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, Florida earlier this month carrying the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). IXPE is scheduled to observe high-energy objects such as neutron stars, black holes, and the centers of distant galaxies to better determine the physics and geometries that create and control them. From a standing start, the 300,000+ kilogram rocket ship lifted IXPE up to circle the Earth, where the outside air is too thin to breathe. Rockets bound for space are now launched from somewhere on Earth every few days.
For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.
Nice.
On my bucket list, to experience a launch in person, someday.
Cool photo.
Fun how the time exposure smooths the water but captures the rocket exhaust plume reflection on the real-time waves as a wiggly line.
I highly recommend it. As a site chief I have been on dozens of launches. SpaceX launches are perhaps the easiest to get to since they post a schedule that is reliable and well in advance.
Thanks, CodeToad!
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