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APOD: Rocket Launch between Mountains (2018 Dec 04)
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 5:06 am
by APOD Robot
Rocket Launch between Mountains
Explanation: What's happening between those mountains? A rocket is being
launched to space. Specifically, a
Long March 3B Carrier Rocket was launched from
Xichang Satellite Launch Center in
Sichuan Province in
China about two week ago.
The rocket lifted two
navigation satellites to about
2,000 kilometers above the Earth's surface, well above the orbit of the
International Space Station, but well below the orbit of
geostationary satellites. China's
Chang'e 3 mission that landed the robotic
Yutu rover on the Moon was launched from Xichang in 2013. The featured image was taken about 10 kilometers from the launch site and is actually a composite of nine exposures, including a separate background image.
Re: APOD: Rocket Launch between Mountains (2018 Dec 04)
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 11:23 am
by Boomer12k
And M45 as well...
:---[===] *
Re: APOD: Rocket Launch between Mountains (2018 Dec 04)
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 11:54 am
by orin stepanek
The featured image was taken about 10 kilometers from the launch site and is actually a composite of nine exposures.
Why????
![Confused :?](./images/smilies/icon_confused.gif)
Re: APOD: Rocket Launch between Mountains (2018 Dec 04)
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 12:35 pm
by mmills@chartertn.net
Looks fake, to me. The fire trail is too distinct and has no off gases or air dispersion.
Re: APOD: Rocket Launch between Mountains (2018 Dec 04)
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 3:01 pm
by Chris Peterson
orin stepanek wrote: ↑Tue Dec 04, 2018 11:54 am
The featured image was taken about 10 kilometers from the launch site and is actually a composite of nine exposures.
Why???? :?
Because cameras lack the dynamic range to capture all the elements in a scene like this in a single exposure.
Re: APOD: Rocket Launch between Mountains (2018 Dec 04)
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 3:03 pm
by JohnD
Probably, see Chris' response to my similar complaint about the Everest photo a few days ago. See
http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?t=38940
We are so used to see rocket launches from flat plains that one from a mountain valley looks weird!
John
PS Wow! Chris got in first!
Re: APOD: Rocket Launch between Mountains (2018 Dec 04)
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 5:00 pm
by APODFORIST
The most interesting thing for me is the fact that the spaceport is located in the middle of a valley. It looks like a set for a James Bond movie.
Re: APOD: Rocket Launch between Mountains (2018 Dec 04)
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 6:12 pm
by Bellerophon
Seems a strange place to launch from. There are less populated areas in China, and I'd hate to have to recover wreckage from a failed launch in those mountains. But it is fairly far south.
Typo: second sentence should read "two weeks ago."
Re: APOD: Rocket Launch between Mountains (2018 Dec 04)
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 7:04 pm
by neufer
Bellerophon wrote: ↑Tue Dec 04, 2018 6:12 pm
Seems a strange place to launch from. There are less populated areas in China, and I'd hate to have to recover wreckage from a failed launch in those mountains. But it is fairly far south.
Typo: second sentence should read "two weeks ago."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xichang_Satellite_Launch_Center wrote:
<<With the completion of the upgrade of
Wenchang Satellite Launch Center scheduled for 2013, all the GEO missions will be transferred to this new space center. Due to negative aspects of the Xichang location, such as its higher latitude, the possibility of rocket stages falling on inhabited areas
(Guizhou) and limited transport infrastructures, the Xichang Satellite Launch Center will no longer be used for civilian duties. However, it will not be closed, it will be kept to serve as a backup launch site.>>
Re: APOD: Rocket Launch between Mountains (2018 Dec 04)
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 9:40 pm
by Adam
Is that the Pleiades up in the top left corner? It would seem worth a mention in the Astronomy as opposed to Astronautical Photo of the Day.
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)