There was another twilight rocket launch from Vandenberg Space Flight Base that provided a spectacular event visible in Arizona on Saturday evening. The sky was still fairly bright so it was difficult to capture the expanding rocket exhaust in the early moments of the flight. But as the sky eventually darkened I was fascinated by the twisting shapes of the rocket contrail and rocket-induced noctilucent clouds. It was dark enough at this point to shoot longer exposures and create a time-lapse video of the clouds. The colors were magnificent–and very similar to what might be observed from naturally occuring noctilucent clouds at higher latitudes.
Falcon 9 second stage ascends into low Earth orbit and leaves behind a brilliant plume. The tiny point of light trailing the 2nd stage is from the descending 1st stage.Falcon 9 second stage ascends into low Earth orbit and leaves behind a brilliant plume. The tiny point of light trailing the 2nd stage is from the descending 1st stage. Note, also, the laminar flow of the gases in the middle of the frame while a more turbulent flow is present in the lower right.
Here are a set of images showing the amazing and colorful noctilucent clouds.
As the sky darkens the noctilucent clouds become more visible.The colors become more dramatic in this view ~37 minutes after launch.Dramatic colors are present in this view ~45 minutes after launch.
Finally, a time-lapse video of the launch and wind-twisted noctilucent clouds.
Time-lapse video of the rocket launch and the wind-twisted noctilucent clouds.
The next launch on the schedule is NASA’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions.
Wide-angle photograph of the Firefly Alpha launch. The exhaust plume from the 1st stage can be seen low near the horizon while the rapidly expanding rocket exhaust from the 2nd stage develops an arch shape. Also visible is the red glow in the ionosphere.
The 5th flight of a Firefly Alpha rocket was launched from Vandenberg Space Flight Base last week (03 July 2024). This was the first time I had observed a Firefly launch and was not certain what to expect. I started photographing the launch using a telephoto (80mm) but a few minutes into the flight I realized I needed a wide-angle lens (12mm) to fully capture the rapidly expanding rocket exhaust.
Firefly Alpha rises above the trees as seen from Upper Lake Mary near Flagstaff, Arizona. (80mm telephoto)
I manually tracked the flight and captured a few more images in which the 1st stage and fairings can be seen.
Firefly Alpha 2nd stage rocket with 1st stage following a short distance behind.Firefly Alpha launch with 2nd stage. The 1st stage is executing a spiral as it begins its descent.The 1st stage continues to produce a spiral rocket exhaust cloud.
Using the wide angle lens I was able to capture a sequence of images suitable for time lapse, presented below.
Time lapse video of the Firefly Alpha rocket launch from Vandenberg SFB on 03 July 2024.
As noted above, I switched from a telephoto lens to wide angle lens a few minutes into the flight–thus the time lapse starts well after launch. Nonetheless, the rapidly expanding rocket exhaust shows up well. Also, there is a hole punched in the ionosphere causing it to glow red. This video was featured on Spaceweather.com and a description of the red glow was provided:
The lingering red glow is “the hole.” Earth’s ionosphere is a layer of electrically-conducting gas enveloping our planet more than 100 km high. It plays a key role in shortwave radio communications and GPS positioning. When Alpha burned through the ionosphere, water and carbon dioxide in therocket’s exhaust quenched local ionization by as much as 70%. Red light is the afterglow of this process.
It was spectacular to watch and photograph. As always, I look forward to additional launches from Vandenberg SFB.
