Monday, March 18, 2024

Photos of the Day: A Falcon 9 Lights Up the Evening Sky...

The exhaust plume created by SpaceX's Falcon 9 second stage booster is visible from my front yard in Pomona, CA...on March 18, 2024.
Richard T. Par

A few hours ago, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Central California to send 22 new Starlink internet satellites to low-Earth orbit.

Using my Google Pixel 4A smartphone, I took these images as the Falcon 9 shot its way towards space...even though Vandenberg is almost 200 miles from where I live in the city of Pomona!

I couldn't decide if I should get dressed and drive to some hillside park to see if I could spot the launch as it took place at 7:28 PM, Pacific Daylight Time today. Turns out, I didn't need to— As this spectacular light show was visible from as far as Tucson, Arizona!

SpaceX is planning to launch Falcon 9 up to 150 times this year (most of these flights will be to deploy additional Starlink satellites); there will obviously be more opportunities to see this rocket brighten the Southern California sky at dusk...and both thrill and confuse ground observers alike. Happy Monday!

The bright contrail created by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is visible from a window at home in Pomona, CA...on March 18, 2024.
Richard T. Par

The bright contrail created by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is visible from a window at home in Pomona, CA...on March 18, 2024.
Richard T. Par

The bright contrail created by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is visible from my house in Pomona, CA...on March 18, 2024.
Richard T. Par

The bright contrail created by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is visible from my house in Pomona, CA...on March 18, 2024.
Richard T. Par

The bright contrail created by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is visible from my house in Pomona, CA...on March 18, 2024.
Richard T. Par

The exhaust plume created by SpaceX's Falcon 9 second stage booster is visible from my neighborhood in Pomona, CA...on March 18, 2024.
Richard T. Par

The exhaust plume created by SpaceX's Falcon 9 second stage booster is visible from my neighborhood in Pomona, CA...on March 18, 2024.
Richard T. Par


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