Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2024 January 20
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                         Falcon Heavy Boostback Burn
                 Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Dennis Huff

   Explanation: [5]The December 28 night launch of a [6]Falcon Heavy
   rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida marked the fifth launch for
   the rocket's reusable side boosters. About 2 minutes 20 seconds into
   the flight, the two side boosters separated from the rocket's core
   stage. Starting just after booster separation, this three minute long
   exposure captures the pair's remarkable [7]boostback burns, maneuvers
   executed prior to their return to [8]landing zones on planet Earth.
   While no attempt was made to recover the Falcon Heavy's core stage,
   both side boosters landed successfully and [9]can be flown again. The
   four previous flights for these side boosters included last October's
   launch of NASA's [10]asteroid-bound Psyche mission.

                        Tomorrow's picture: snow day
     __________________________________________________________________

      [11]< | [12]Archive | [13]Submissions | [14]Index | [15]Search |
   [16]Calendar | [17]RSS | [18]Education | [19]About APOD | [20]Discuss |
                                    [21]>
     __________________________________________________________________

    Authors & editors: [22]Robert Nemiroff ([23]MTU) & [24]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([25]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Ryan Smallcomb [26]Specific rights apply.
              [27]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [28]ASD at [29]NASA / [30]GSFC,
                         [31]NASA Science Activation
                           & [32]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2401/DSC07781_11Huff.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://drh68.zenfolio.com/
   5. https://drh68.zenfolio.com/p831025468
   6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240102.html
   7. https://i.stack.imgur.com/mojf8.png
   8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_Zones_1_and_2
   9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Falcon_9_first-stage_boosters#Active
  10. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/psyche/
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240119.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  15. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  20. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=240120
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240121.html
  22. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  23. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  24. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  25. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  27. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  28. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  29. https://www.nasa.gov/
  30. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  31. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  32. http://www.mtu.edu/