Posted on 02/17/2025 12:40:39 PM PST by MtnClimber
Explanation: What's happened to the sky? Last Monday, the photogenic launch plume from a SpaceX rocket launch created quite a spectacle over parts of southern California and Arizona. Looking at times like a giant space fish, the impressive rocket launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, California, was so bright because it was backlit by the setting Sun. The Falcon 9 rocket successfully delivered to low Earth orbit 23 Starlink communications satellites. The plume from the first stage is seen on the right, while the soaring upper stage rocket is seen at the apex of the plume toward the left. Venus appears at the top of the frame, while a bright streetlight shines on the far right. The featured image was captured toward the west after sunset from near Phoenix, Arizona.
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.
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Yep, it was cool. Saw it from Arizona.
We saw the plume from here in Silicon Valley! We are 200 miles NNW from Vandenberg AFB. It wasn’t as dramatic as this photo, but it was spectacular. My son had just got home from work, came in the house and said “Dad, come out and take a look at this weird cloud.”
I told him it was a SpaceX launch from Vandenberg. He immediately went on line to see if the Old Man was right — and I was. I impressed him!
My BIL just a few days ago sent us a vid of the same thing but only on the East coast - Hatteras Island. Feb. 4th.
The guy who built those rockets also was NOT ELECTED....:)
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