This emerged in the western sky on October 27th. Had no idea there was a falcon 9 launch. It was well after sunset. Wondering how high in the atmosphere this would have to be to be visible from Eastern Utah.
https://i.redd.it/su2l9dljryyf1.jpeg
This emerged in the western sky on October 27th. Had no idea there was a falcon 9 launch. It was well after sunset. Wondering how high in the atmosphere this would have to be to be visible from Eastern Utah.
https://i.redd.it/su2l9dljryyf1.jpeg
5 Comments
Unsure about the height in this launch, but I (northern FL) can see the Starships when the launch from Texas as it flies between Florida and Cuba which is 300-400 miles away, so I’d bet it was a starship launch. At sunset, the launches exhaust plume is highlighted by the sun and its much larger than the engines appear, so that could be what you’re seeing also
This is a very cool picture. It’s always surprising how far away these can be visible when the conditions are right.
For those curious, this particular Falcon 9 was a Starlink launch from Vandenberg.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-starlink-launch-group-11-21-ocisly
Yeah, these were “jellyfish conditions” – the Sun was set from Utah for a few minutes, and the rocket launched in daylight. So the smoke from the exhaust was well-lit. It contrasts against the darkening sky.
The first stage on Starlink launches gets up to 120km or so and the 2nd stage gets as high as 155km before second engine cutoff. But that’s 8 minutes into flight, well after it’s gone too far to see. It’s probably in the 120-140km range by the time it reaches the horizon to the south and disappears from view.
[Here’s the SpaceX mission video for reference](https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/1on1qhh/falcon_9_launch_visible_from_utah/).
That’s crazy! Is it safe for you to be near that?
Ayo
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