On June 19, several amateur astrophotographers in the US were shocked to see the sky lit up red glitter unlike anything they’ve ever seen before. was not visible to the naked eye, but all their cameras caught the same thing. Many of them began to report what had happened and investigate possible causes until they found something that could explain everything. Just a few minutes before the sky turns hellish SpaceX launched a rocket Falcon 9 from Florida.
Most of these astrophotographers weren’t scientists, so they didn’t have a clear explanation. However, some physicists soon began to comment on this, clarifying what SpaceX might have to do with the color of the sky.
The key is in oxygen. And the fact that the second phase of the rocket was able to catch fire just at the height of the atmosphere in which they are located. positive ions this item. Thus, when an engine fails, they can combine with other elements to form molecular ions such as O2+ or NO+. And it is precisely through the interaction of these ions with electrons from the atmosphere when the light comes on. In fact, this phenomenon is similar to Northern lights.
When the sky turned red because of SpaceX
One of the first astrophotographers to report what happened was David Johnson, capturing the glow while photographing the sky in the Bear Rocks area of Virginia. He was joined by other sky-lovers in places like Maryland, Ohio or North Carolina.
They all claimed to have seen the glow around 00:30 and exclusively through his camera, filming long exposure photography. In addition, they assure that it lasted only a few minutes.
Everyone noticed a red glow in the sky around 00:30, 3 minutes after SpaceX launched.
Shortly before that, at 00:27, SpaceX launched from Florida. rocket falcon 9 with a payload owned satellite Globalstar. It is known that the second stage engine burns out approximately three minutes after takeoffjust at the moment when the sky turned red through the cameras of all these photographers.
Everything is too accurate to be a coincidence. And it doesn’t look like it’s the way he explained in the statements Washington Post space physicist at Boston University Charles Martinis. The key is in those oxygen ions that combine with other molecules in the atmosphere. But why has nothing like this been observed before, if missile launches are very common in that area of the United States?
The key, according to Martinis, is how advanced cameras are today. In the past, flares like the one caused by a SpaceX rocket could only be captured using scientific instruments. Now the cameras used by many astrophotographers are also capable of capturing these flares.
It would be great if we could also observe them with the naked eye, because this is without a doubt a very special sight. It’s impossible; but luckily we can see all the photos that were taken at that time. Without a doubt, these photographers will always be happy in the right place and at the right time.
Source: Hiper Textual
