Photos of the Day: Wind-driven Firestorms Wreak Havoc on Southern California...

Mark Viniello

Just thought I'd share these heartbreaking images of the widespread destruction that has befallen Southern California due to multiple wildfires over the past three days. As of this Blog entry, 0% of the Eaton Fire in Altadena has been contained, and only 6% of the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades are under control. Click here for a list of all of the recent wildfires that hit SoCal since strong Santa Ana winds began striking the region on January 7.

All but two of these photos were posted by folks on Instagram and X. The last two were taken by me using my Google Pixel 5 smartphone in the city of Diamond Bar yesterday.

My condolences goes to those who lost their homes in these tragic firestorms, as well as the family members and friends of the ten reported individuals who lost their lives in the Palisades and Eaton Fires. To find ways to help people affected by these wildfires, click here.


Dan Hellie


Getty Images


Team RMGNews - FirePhotoGirl on X


Matt Finn


AP Photo / Ethan Swope


Stevante Clark


ABC 7 - Chris Cristi


Maxar Technologies


ABC 7 - Chris Cristi


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par

Photos of the Day: My Snapshots of Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS!

Richard T. Par

A few hours ago, I drove down to Summitridge Park in the city of Diamond Bar to take photos of comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)...which will be visible in the evening sky for the next two weeks or so. Once it heads back out to the Oort Cloud two light-years away, comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS won't return to our inner Solar System for another 80,000 years!

I used my Google Pixel 5 and Nikon D3300 DSLR camera to capture these snapshots. Here are the settings that I employed on my DSLR:

Lens: 70-300mm Nikon telephoto lens
ISO: 400 to 1600
F-stop: f/5.6
Shutter speed: 2.5 seconds
Live View mode on my LCD screen used instead of the viewfinder

I plan on heading back out to capture more images of C/2023 A3 as it gets higher up in the sky over the coming days. This is my second comet in over four years (after comet NEOWISE in July of 2020) that I was fortunate enough to take photos of from Los Angeles County, CA!

Hope you guys are having a nice weekend.


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


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Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par

Firefly Aerospace Puts On A Pre-Independence Day Light Show Above SoCal...

Richard T. Par

Happy Fourth of July, fellow Americans! Just thought I'd share these two pics that I took of Firefly Aerospace's latest launch of its Alpha rocket last night.

Alpha's fifth flight since October 2022 took place from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California, at 9:04 PM, Pacific Daylight Time...carrying 8 NASA-sponsored CubeSats to low-Earth orbit as part of Firefly's Noise of Summer mission (which is officially designated as FLTA005).

I watched the Noise of Summer launch from a window at my house in Pomona, California, just like I did with the very first SpaceX Starlink flight which I photographed back in March. Assuming that the next Alpha rocket lifts off in the evening just like FLTA005, I'll be sure to at least step outside my home to capture images (probably with a new smartphone and not my current Google Pixel 4A) as Firefly's sixth operational launch vehicle soars toward space from the Central California coastline!

Enjoy the fireworks that will occur much closer to the ground tonight, my awesome Yanks.


Richard T. Par

🎵 After the #NoiseofSummer have gone 🎵 – After expected deployment, the CubeSat teams are now awaiting Acquisition of Signal.

This wraps @Firefly_Space's Venture-Class Launch Services Demonstration 2 mission for NASA. pic.twitter.com/hAABA7YQc4

— NASA's Launch Services Program (@NASA_LSP) July 4, 2024

Great way to kick off America's birthday! The Alpha #FLTA005 #NoiseofSummer team completed orbital insertion, payload deployment, second stage relight, and orbital plane change. More here: https://t.co/RlPand8NuW

— Firefly Aerospace (@Firefly_Space) July 4, 2024

Photos of the Day: SpaceX Launches a Classified Payload from the California Coastline...

Richard T. Par

Last night, I drove back to Summitridge Park in the city of Diamond Bar to see another SpaceX launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Unlike the five previous Falcon 9 flights that I witnessed this year, yesterday's launch sent a classified payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)—and not Starlink satellites—to Earth orbit!

It was at 8:14 PM, PDT, that a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the NROL-186 payload lifted off from Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex 4 East pad on the Central California coastline. While SpaceX's webcast of the launch ended (at the request of NRO) right after the Falcon 9's first stage booster touched down on the Of Course I Still Love You drone ship waiting out in the Pacific Ocean, a couple of other spectators at Summitridge Park and I continued to observe as the second stage engine attached to last night's spacecraft made its way across the SoCal sky.

As shown in the fifth and grainy pic below (captured by my Nikon D3300 DSLR camera), I was able to watch the first stage booster conduct its reentry burn while disappearing in the horizon! Yesterday's photos were taken with both my DSLR camera and Google Pixel 4A phone.

Just like the other launch that I saw from Diamond Bar back in April, the Falcon 9's contrail wasn't as bright as the previous launch six days ago because liftoff occurred only minutes after sunset. It's all good.

I wasn't even expecting to get such a great view of yesterday's launch because I thought that the flight trajectory for the NROL-186 mission was going to be significantly different from those used for the SoCal Starlink launches. Thank God I was wrong!

As usual, I look forward to the next evening launch by SpaceX from Santa Barbara County. Happy Saturday!


Richard T. Par


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Richard T. Par

SpaceX Puts On Another Stunning SoCal Light Show for the 2nd Time in 5 Days...

Richard T. Par

A few hours ago, SpaceX launched another Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 new Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California.

Unlike the June 18 launch—which I viewed from my neighborhood in Pomona—I drove to West Covina's Shadow Oak Park to witness tonight's flight (which occurred at 8:47 PM, PDT). Needless to say, the view from Shadow Oak Park was just as spectacular as the one offered at Diamond Bar's Summitridge Park...where I went to see the April 6 launch.

Nothing else needs to be said, except that I never get tired of seeing the amazing 'jellyfish' created by the thrust of Falcon 9's second stage engine as it transported the Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit. And of course, let's not forget the awesome view of Falcon 9's twin payload fairings and first stage booster as they fell back to Earth to be recovered by waiting SpaceX vessels stationed out in the Pacific Ocean!

I'm basically repeating myself if you've read my previous Blog entries about the Starlink launches, so here are photos that I took tonight (using my Google Pixel 4A phone). Can't wait till SpaceX conducts another spectacular Falcon 9 flight from the Central California coastline!

I hope y'all had a great weekend.


Richard T. Par


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Richard T. Par

Another Spectacular SoCal Light Show by SpaceX...

Richard T. Par

A few hours ago, SpaceX launched another Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 new Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. This is the first time since early April, and fifth time overall since 2018, that I watched a Falcon 9 launch dazzle the evening sky from here in Los Angeles County!

Liftoff occurred at 8:40 PM, PDT...which was the ideal time for SpaceX to conduct a launch since the sky was dark enough for the Falcon 9's contrail to glow brilliantly above the landscape. Not only did the contrail shine above Southern California, but so did the Falcon 9's twin payload fairings and first stage booster (shown above) as they were absolutely visible during their return to Earth to be recovered by SpaceX vessels (including the drone ship, Of Course I Still Love You, in the case of the first stage booster) waiting off the SoCal coastline in the Pacific Ocean.

I'll never get tired of seeing these spectacular light shows put on by SpaceX! I've read online that United Launch Alliance will launch its brand-new Vulcan Centaur rocket from Vandenberg sometime next year... What are the chances that Vulcan lifts off at dusk and follows the same flight trajectory as Falcon 9 so that rocket geeks like me can photograph it (using my Google Pixel 4A phone and Nikon D3300 DSLR camera, like I did tonight) in all its liquid methane and liquid oxygen-fueled glory?

We'll see!


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


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Richard T. Par

Falcon 9 delivers 20 @Starlink satellites to orbit from California pic.twitter.com/cIxiifeAGj

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 19, 2024

Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on Of Course I Still Love You droneship pic.twitter.com/oftsMhP728

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 19, 2024

Photos of the Day: A Supercarrier in Los Angeles...

On this Memorial Day, here are images that I took of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) while it was docked at the Port of Los Angeles for L.A. Fleet Week.

These photos of CVN-70 were taken last Friday...from Cabrillo Beach in the city of San Pedro. I could've went on a public tour aboard the deck of this supercarrier, but my goal of this trip was to simply see this formidable warship in person and take pictures of it with my Google Pixel 4A smartphone and Nikon D3300 DSLR camera.

Today was the last day to see CVN-70 while it was berthed here in Los Angeles County for Memorial Day weekend.

This isn't the first time that I've seen an aircraft carrier in person! I have an uncle who served aboard the USS Ranger (CV-61, which was decommissioned in 1993) and gave me and my family members a tour at San Diego's Naval Base Coronado (where the Ranger was stationed) back when I was a young kid.

Here's a fun fact about the Carl Vinson (unless you're a jihadist): It is the carrier from which Osama bin Laden was buried at sea after he was neutralized by SEAL Team Six in Pakistan back on May 1, 2011.

On this solemn day, remember all of the brave American men and women who fought and died for our country.


Richard T. Par


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Richard T. Par