Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Rocket Plume Shadow Points to the Moon

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for June 24, 2018 is “Rocket Plume Shadow Points to the Moon,” an image. It is credited to Image Credit: Pat McCracken, NASA. The original explanation runs about 153 words.

Rocket Plume Shadow Points to the Moon
Credit: Image Credit: Pat McCracken, NASA Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Why would the shadow of a space shuttle launch plume point toward the Moon? In early 2001 during a launch of Atlantis , the Sun , Earth , Moon , and rocket were all properly aligned for this photogenic coincidence .”

— APOD editors, June 24, 2018

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
June 24, 2018
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit: Pat McCracken, NASA
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 153 words

All of June 2018 → · 2018 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

The MoonThe Sun

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: June 24 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.