Rocket Plume Shadow Points to the Moon.

Why would the shadow of a rocket's launch plume point toward the Moon? In early 2001 during a launch of the space shuttle Atlantis , the Sun , Earth , Moon , and rocket were all properly aligned for this photogenic coincidence . First, for the space shuttle 's plume to cast a long shadow, the time of day must be either near sunrise or sunset . Only then will the shadow be its longest and extend all the way to the horizon . Finally, during a Full Moon , the Sun and Moon are on opposite sides of the sky. Just after sunset , for example, the Sun is slightly below the horizon , and, in the other direction, the Moon is slightly above the horizon . Therefore, as Atlantis blasted off, just after sunset , its shadow projected away from the Sun toward the opposite horizon , where the Full Moon happened to be.

Almost Hyperspace: Random APOD Generator