What’s Up with the Sky? A Rocket Launch to Remember!

Last Monday, if you happened to glance skyward over southern California or Arizona, you might have wondered if the universe was playing tricks on us.

Witnessing the Breathtaking Launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket

What you actually witnessed was a scene so stunning and surreal that it could easily belong in a sci-fi movie – the dazzling launch plume from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, making you question whether you’d accidentally stepped into a cosmic art exhibit.

In a display that could make even the most jaded Instagram influencer green with envy, the rocket powered into the stratosphere from Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, California. As the sun set behind the coastline, it cast a warm golden hue across the launching rocket, lighting up the plume like it was auditioning for the role of “Most Photogenic Prop in the Sky.” If that plume looked anything like a gigantic, floating space fish, you wouldn’t be the only one liable to believe it. Who needs a trip to the aquarium when you’ve got the cosmos putting on a show right above your head?

The Falcon 9 did not disappoint. It expertly delivered 23 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit, weaving a little more magic into the starry expanse above. Meanwhile, the plume acrobatically danced in the sky: the first stage jettisoning on the right, while the towering upper stage rocket soared to new heights on the left, reminding us mortals that there are indeed things out there far loftier than our Monday night Netflix binges.

And while we gazed in awe at this celestial phenomenon, Venus winked at us from the top of the frame, almost as if saying, “Hey, I see you down there, little humans! Enjoy the show!” Meanwhile, a bright streetlight desperately tried to compete for our attention on the far right, but let’s face it, there’s no sidewalk lamp that could ever rival a rocket taking flight. Sorry, streetlight, you were just not built for this kind of spotlight.

Captured just after sunset from near Phoenix, Arizona, the whole event was so majestic that even the sky seemed to be in on the joke, painting itself to perfection for the occasion. So the next time someone tells you the sky’s the limit, remember the dazzling performance of the Falcon 9 rocket. With stellar displays like this, the sky is clearly just the beginning. Who knows what other wonders await us above? Grab your telescopes, neighbors; it’s time to keep our eyes peeled and our cameras ready!

Image via NASA https://ift.tt/nCL1Ny7