载人8号“星云”

2024年3月7日

The Crew-8 Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright: Michael Seeley

Explanation: Not the James Webb Space Telescope’s latest view of a distant galactic nebula, this cloud of gas and dust dazzled spacecoast skygazers on March 3. The telephoto snapshot was taken minutes after the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket on the SpaceX Crew-8 mission, to the International Space Station. It captures plumes and exhaust from the separated first and second stage, a drifting Rorschach pattern in dark evening skies. The bright spot near bottom center within the stunning terrestrial nebulosity is the second stage engine firing to carry 4 humans to space in the Crew Dragon spacecraft Endeavour. In sharp silhouette just above it is the Falcon 9 first stage booster orienting itself for return to a landing zone at Cape Canaveral, planet Earth. This reuseable first stage booster was making its first flight. But the Crew Dragon Endeavour capsule has flown humans to low Earth orbit and back again 4 times before. Endeavour, as a name for a spacecraft, has also seen reuse, christening retired Space Shuttle Endeavour and the Apollo 15 command module.

Tomorrow’s picture: distant galactic nebula

载人8号“星云”
影像提供与版权: Michael Seeley

说明: ３月３日清晨，这团让太空海岸的观星者看得目眩神迷的明亮气体和尘埃云，并不是韦伯太空望远镜最新发布、位于遥远星系的星云。这幅长焦镜头影像，摄于太空探险公司载人８号任务的猎鹰9号火箭发射后的数分钟，而载人８号则是该公司发射前往国际太空站的载人任务。影像记录了第一级和第二级火箭分离喷燃时，以漆黑夜空为衬托的罗夏克墨渍式飘飞烟尘及废气。在这团美丽的”地球星云“里，中下方的亮斑，来自推送4名组员及奋进号载人龙飞船前往太空的第二级火箭。其上方鲜明的剪影，则是正在调整航向以返回地球卡纳维尔角着陆区的第一级助推器。这部可重复使用的第一级助推器，刚完成它的第一次助推任务。不过，奋进号载人龙飞船先前已完成4次载人前往低地球轨道及返回任务。而奋进号本身也是一个重复使用的航天器命名，包括已退役的奋进号航天飞机和阿波罗15号的指挥舱。 （Rorschach pattern 罗夏克墨渍）

明日的图片: distant galactic nebula