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.

                              2025 February 17
     [2]Houses are seen on a street below the night sky. In the sky is a
   bright light plume that looks like the outline of a giant fish. Please
             see the explanation for more detailed information.

                 SpaceX Rocket Launch Plume over California
               Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Martin LaMontagne

   Explanation: What's happened to the sky? Last Monday, the photogenic
   launch plume from a [4]SpaceX [5]rocket launch created [6]quite a
   spectacle over parts of southern [7]California and [8]Arizona. Looking
   at times like a [9]giant space fish, the impressive rocket launch from
   [10]Vandenberg Air Force Base near [11]Lompoc, California, was so
   bright because it was [12]backlit by the setting Sun. The [13]Falcon 9
   rocket successfully [14]delivered to [15]low Earth orbit 23 Starlink
   communications satellites. The [16]plume from the first stage is seen
   on the right, while the [17]soaring upper stage rocket is seen at the
   apex of the [18]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 [19]Phoenix,
   Arizona.

                       Tomorrow's picture: Thor birds
     __________________________________________________________________

      [20]< | [21]Archive | [22]Submissions | [23]Index | [24]Search |
   [25]Calendar | [26]RSS | [27]Education | [28]About APOD | [29]Discuss |
                                    [30]>
     __________________________________________________________________

    Authors & editors: [31]Robert Nemiroff ([32]MTU) & [33]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([34]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [35]Specific rights apply.
            [36]NASA Web Privacy, [37]Accessibility, [38]Notices;
                A service of: [39]ASD at [40]NASA / [41]GSFC,
                         [42]NASA Science Activation
                           & [43]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2502/FishPlume_LaMontagne_2272.jpg
   3. mailto: martybkfd at Hotmail dot com
   4. http://www.spacex.com/
   5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170122.html
   6. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9e/b7/32/9eb732bacf6acde3c844e7c1d1c5aa5b.jpg
   7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California#/media/File:California_in_United_States.svg
   8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona#/media/File:Arizona_in_United_States.svg
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240501.html
  10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandenberg_Air_Force_Base
  11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lompoc,_California
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120208.html
  13. http://www.spacex.com/falcon9
  14. https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-launches-23-starlink-satellites-to-orbit-from-california-photos
  15. https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-orbit-58.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240211.html
  17. https://www.reddit.com/r/photoshopbattles/comments/hxr5yl/psbattle_this_jumping_cat/#lightbox
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150524.html
  19. https://youtu.be/_trT55K4JIs
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250216.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  24. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  26. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  29. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=250217
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250218.html
  31. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  32. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  33. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  34. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  36. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  37. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  38. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  39. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  42. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  43. http://www.mtu.edu/