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Credit & Copyright: Seung Hye Yang
Explanation:
What's that over the horizon?
What may look like a strangely
nearby galaxy
is actually a normal rocket's exhaust plume -- but unusually backlit.
Although the
SpaceX
Falcon 9 rocket was
launched from
Cape Canaveral in
Florida,
USA,
its burned propellant was visible over a much wider area,
with the featured photograph being taken from
Akureyri,
Iceland.
The huge spaceship was lifted off a week ago, and the
resulting spectacle
was captured soon afterward with a single 10-second
smartphone exposure,
before it quickly dissipated.
Like noctilucent clouds,
the plume's brightness is caused by the
Twilight Effect,
where an object is high enough to be illuminated by the twilight Sun,
even when the observer on the ground experiences the darkness of night.
The spiral
shape is likely caused by high winds
pushing the expelled gas into the shape of a
corkscrew, which, when seen along the trajectory, looks like a
spiral.
Stars and faint green and red
aurora
appear in the background of this
extraordinary image.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: rocket
Publications with words: rocket
See also: