Starship Asterisk*

Atlas at Dawn

Explanation: This single, 251-second long exposure follows the early flight of an Atlas V rocket on August 8, streaking eastward toward the dawn from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, planet Earth. The launch of the United Launch Alliance rocket was at 6:13am local time. Sunrise was not until 6:48am, but the rocket's downrange plume at altitude is brightly lit by the Sun still just below the eastern horizon. Waters of the Indian River Lagoon in Palm Shores, Forida reflect subtle colors and warming glow of the otherwise calm, predawn sky. The mighty Atlas rocket carried a military communications satellite into Earth orbit. Of course, this weekend the streaks you see in clear skies before the dawn could be Perseid Meteors.

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Looks like a Noctilucent cloud... um...but at DAWN...soo....Dawnilucent????

Great photo...
:---[===] *

I too; noticed how the burnt fuel turned into clouds! Kinda pretty!

Sunrise was at 6:48 am? This raises a curious puzzle to me that I never realized in 50 years. I live near Toronto Canada, which is in the same time zone as Cape Canaveral. We are almost due north being close to 80 degrees west longitude. Actually Toronto is slightly east, being just under 80 degrees west. Yet yesterday sunrise was at 6:15 am yesterday in Toronto. The sun rises 33 minutes earlier in Toronto than in Florida? Why is that? Could it be because of the summer axial tilt of the Earth? The northern hemisphere is titled some 23 degrees from straight up and down, thereby making Toronto closer to the Sun?

De58te wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2019 11:34 am Sunrise was at 6:48 am? This raises a curious puzzle to me that I never realized in 50 years. I live near Toronto Canada, which is in the same time zone as Cape Canaveral. We are almost due north being close to 80 degrees west longitude. Actually Toronto is slightly east, being just under 80 degrees west. Yet yesterday sunrise was at 6:15 am yesterday in Toronto. The sun rises 33 minutes earlier in Toronto than in Florida? Why is that? Could it be because of the summer axial tilt of the Earth? The northern hemisphere is titled some 23 degrees from straight up and down, thereby making Toronto closer to the Sun?

Yes it's due to the Earth's tilt. Go even further north and daylight is longer still. It's not being closer to the Sun, it's being at a location that's in sunlight longer.

De58te wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2019 11:34 am
Sunrise was at 6:48 am? This raises a curious puzzle to me that I never realized in 50 years. I live near Toronto Canada, which is in the same time zone as Cape Canaveral. We are almost due north being close to 80 degrees west longitude. Actually Toronto is slightly east, being just under 80 degrees west. Yet yesterday sunrise was at 6:15 am yesterday in Toronto. The sun rises 33 minutes earlier in Toronto than in Florida? Why is that? Could it be because of the summer axial tilt of the Earth? The northern hemisphere is titled some 23 degrees from straight up and down, thereby making Toronto closer to the Sun?

No.

Folks on the Equator ALWAYS experience 12 hrs of day & 12 hrs of night.

Folks far from the Equator experience LONG days during the Summer and LONG nights during the Winter.

Folks on the Poles experience 24 hrs of day during the Summer and 24 hrs of night during the Winter.

You are closer to the Poles and get to enjoy long Summer days
but have to pay it back later with long Winter nights.

Check out a globe.

Beautiful picture! I want a poster of this!