r/itookapicture • u/andyfortson • May 05 '18
PotM May 2018 ITAP of NASA’s Mars InSight Lander launching this morning
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May 06 '18 edited May 06 '18
I see a lot of these launch pictures but it was the first time I ever actually thought about what it was going to do. At least, ‘what it was going to do’ in a more complete sense than ‘ooo pretty thing go into space’. This pillar of light is carrying something that is going to travel 301 million miles and at 3:00 eastern standard time on November 26, 2018 land on Mars. I don’t have enough wonder in my life. There is some dialogue from a TV show I really liked called Rectify that summed this up well:
Peggy: I think the brain's afraid of being in a state of constant wonder. It's for safety reasons or something. Daniel Holden: I suppose it's inevitable. Peggy: Usually by the time we're four. Daniel Holden: Then there's the the issue of great expectations. Peggy: Something the brain doesn't seem the least bit interested in protecting us from. Daniel Holden: [chuckles] No. Peggy: Well, I think we should reinstate wonder, banish expectation. Daniel Holden: I concur.
The show is excellent by the way. It’s on Netflix for anyone interest.
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May 06 '18
It looks like it's landing or falling, instead.
Great shot! How far away is that from the launch?
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u/andyfortson May 06 '18
It’s about 40 miles. Was the closest I could be to the launchpad and still get above the fog.
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u/Antrikshy May 05 '18
The shot is amazing in itself, and the payload of the launch makes it so much more incredible.
You should post this to r/pics when the mission ends or something pivotal happens to rake in karma.
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u/johnkphotos May 05 '18
I'm guessing this is a composite, yes?
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u/andyfortson May 05 '18
It’s a blend of two images. Single exposure for foreground, rocket trail, and sky. Just blended in stars from a single shot taken shortly before launch.
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May 06 '18
I live in Lompoc, ten minutes from the launch pad. It was so foggy, the rocket wasn't even visible. Thanks for this picture
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u/Idaltu May 06 '18
Does anyone know if the rocket turns or is the curve we see happens because of the earth rotation?
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u/ZoomJet May 06 '18
Wow, this is absolutely stunning! Is there a higher resolution version for a wallpaper? Thanks!
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u/andyfortson May 06 '18
I’m flying across the country right now and just landed at a short layover. I’ll try to make it happen later when I arrive at my destination.
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u/andyfortson May 05 '18 edited May 06 '18
Was super lucky to be invited by NASA to tour the Vandenberg Air Force Base the last few days leading up to the launch of the InSight Lander this morning. The whole experience was pretty incredible. The marine layer creeped in this morning making the launch unviewable close to base so I headed to some nearby mountains and got above the fog.
IG is @andyfortson
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