Another SpaceX launch visible in Arizona is planned for this week
Rockets are launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in southern California. SpaceX has launched rockets from Vandenberg Space Force Base in southern California, with the Falcon 9’s first stage booster set to land on the droneship ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ in the Pacific Ocean. The company's satellite constellation, Starlink, consists of thousands of satellites orbiting Earth at an altitude of about 550 km, or 341 3/4 miles. The launch is visible in Arizona due to the "Twilight Phenomenon" phenomenon, which occurs when the rocket launches far away in California but so high it can be seen in Arizona. Starlink has provided high-speed, low-latency internet on tens of thousands flights and counting, keeping passengers connected throughout their travels around the world.
Published : 4 weeks ago by Author: Dacia Johnson in Tech Science
Rockets are launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in southern California.
The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on the droneship ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ in the Pacific Ocean, SpaceX said
Starlink is "the world's first and largest satellite constellation using a low Earth orbit to deliver broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls and more," according to the service's website.
The "constellation" of satellites consists of thousands of satellites that orbit Earth at an altitude of about 550 km, or 341 3/4 miles.
Starlink has provided high-speed, low-latency internet on tens of thousands of flights and counting, keeping passengers connected from the moment they step onboard their aircraft and throughout their travels all around the world pic.twitter.com/4I6tcjMyrZ — Starlink (@Starlink) February 9, 2024
What SpaceX launches look like in Arizona
He told 12News the reason the SpaceX rockets light up the sky is not because the engines burn brightly (although they do), it's because of something called the Twilight Phenomenon.
"The sun might have set for us here in Arizona, but it hasn't set in California," Reddy said. "So it's catching that sunlight and reflecting off."
Basically, the rocket launches far away, in California. but it goes so high that we can see it in Arizona. And when we see it, it's not in the shadow of nightfall, even though Arizona is. The "glow" is sunlight hitting the exhaust trail, even while we perceive the sky to be black.
"If you are at the top of a mountain, you can see the sunset much longer than people at the base of the mountain," Reddy said. So, think of the rocket as the top of the mountain while you're at the bottom.
Topics: Space