SpaceX Rocket Launch Plume over California

SpaceX Rocket Launch Plume over California

Image Credit & Copyright:
Martin LaMontagne

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.