(11 votes, average: 4.09 out of 5) (Log in to vote!)
Loading ...
Neat visual of the Space Shuttle Atlantis launching at sunset. In early 2001 during a launch of Atlantis, the Sun, Earth, Moon, and rocket were all properly aligned.
First, for the space shuttle’s plume to cast a long shadow, the time of day must be either near sunrise or sunset. Next, just at sunset, the shadow is the longest and extends 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 just happened to be.
Processing your request, Please wait....
To escape Earth’s gravity and enter a state or orbiting free-fall, the space shuttle must reach a speed of 17,000 mph. At the altitude above sea level that the shuttle orbits, 200-240 miles, Earth’s gravity is still very much in effect. If there were a mountain on Earth that was 200 miles high, and you were to stand on the peak, your weight would be approximately 2/3 normal.
I hope u realise the impossibleness of the explanation for this picture.
The sunset would never create such a shadow that reaches that far… see for ur self at sunsets what kind of shadow are there.
Shadows dissipate…
And, On the picture the Shuttle Atlantis is further up, then the point the shadow is pointed at…
So what is creating this shadow? Perhaps the collumn of smoke, but then again the shadow would dissipate and certainly not be reaching towards the moon.