Strange object photographed during rocket launch

I took these photos with my Galaxy S23 Ultra last evening from the Phoenix AZ metro area of the Starlink Falcon 9 launch out of Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

A few seconds after taking the below picture, I zoomed in with my camera for a better look


Upon reviewing the photos, I noticed a strange white dot (circled) that was curious


Original image 4000 x 1868 px, cropped & resampled to 1000 x 533

Zooming in on the original photo, it looked like the white dot had a little smoke trail behind it.

Then I zoomed in on the dot and it looked like this:

I messed with the brightness and contrast and came up with this.

Any ideas what this might be? An airplane maybe?

Sorry, but it just looks like a lens flare. Can happen when you have a bright object in your pic, especially when zooming in on it. Looks cool though!

originally posted by: Sisavran
Sorry, but it just looks like a lens flare. Can happen when you have a bright object in your pic, especially when zooming in on it. Looks cool though!

Why be sorry? Thanks for your suggestion.

I wasn’t insinuating this was a UFO or Chinese drone getting a close up look or anything. I just thought it was weird and looked like an actual object. My best guess was an airplane because it kind is in the path I see planes on heading into Sky Harbor.

I wish I would have switched to 200 million pixel deep-learning based processing mode or the native 50 mega-pixel mode but the camera has too many options and I am not very experienced with them all, especially when in a hurry.

a reply to: AnAlternateOpinion

Did it move?
It reminds me of a lens flare. But would have to see the original photo and run it on my comp.

a reply to: Macenroe82

I didn't even see it when I took the picture because I wasn't looking so I don't know if it moved?

Sending PM with link to original.

originally posted by: AnAlternateOpinion
I took these photos with my Galaxy S23 Ultra last evening from the Phoenix AZ metro area of the Starlink Falcon 9 launch out of Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

A few seconds after taking the below picture, I zoomed in with my camera for a better look

Upon reviewing the photos, I noticed a strange white dot (circled) that was curious

Original image 4000 x 1868 px, cropped & resampled to 1000 x 533

Zooming in on the original photo, it looked like the white dot had a little smoke trail behind it.

Then I zoomed in on the dot and it looked like this:

I messed with the brightness and contrast and came up with this.

Any ideas what this might be? An airplane maybe?

If you took these photos from Phoenix, that was almost certainly the second stage of the Falcon 9 that was leaving the big exhaust plume. That small object might have been the launch shroud from the second stage. The streamlined launch shroud is a carbon fiber shell that encloses the payload and shields it from the aerodynamic drag that the payload would otherwise feel from moving through the atmosphere at high speed. Once the second stage gets high enough that it's above most of the atmosphere, they jettison the shroud and let it fall back to Earth. I'm guessing it would fall into the Gulf of Mexico somewhere.

a reply to: AnAlternateOpinion

A bug, in the sunlight?

If it had been at a distance, with camera focus being set to infinity, it would not have been so blurred.

So, it is not so far away, and is probably an insect in the sunlight.

Bird.

2nd

originally posted by: AnAlternateOpinion

originally posted by: Sisavran
Sorry, but it just looks like a lens flare. Can happen when you have a bright object in your pic, especially when zooming in on it. Looks cool though!

Why be sorry? Thanks for your suggestion.

I wasn’t insinuating this was a UFO or Chinese drone getting a close up look or anything. I just thought it was weird and looked like an actual object. My best guess was an airplane because it kind is in the path I see planes on heading into Sky Harbor.

I wish I would have switched to 200 million pixel deep-learning based processing mode or the native 50 mega-pixel mode but the camera has too many options and I am not very experienced with them all, especially when in a hurry.

How do you know it's not a drone or UFO?
It's not clear from the picture what it is but it could be what the other poster suggested.

a reply to: AnAlternateOpinion

Curious….you state photos…plural.

Can you post the original photo that the object shows up.

Unless I’m wearing an eye patch on one eye and my other eye is closed……i zoomed in on the first picture you posted in the op …..and saw nothing.

So I’m thinking you have a different original picture from which you cropped/zoomed that shows the object.

What do ya say?

👽🧐

This is the original photo. I didn't think it would be much better since it is 4000 x 1868 pixels and the board sizes it to fit


This is the picture taken right before that wasn't zoomed in. Both are approximately 5 minutes after launch. You can use the vents on the roof for reference.

Don't have a clue what that thing is. It kind of looks like a snowman falling from the sky. Actually, maybe the head of a white dog.

I'm of no help here. At first I saw a rocket propelled manatee. Then zoomed a bit more a rocket propelled unicorn. In the last zoomed pic it looks to me like Falkor so that's where I am with figuring it out. My eyes are crap. It is an interesting photo either way.

a reply to: AnAlternateOpinion

A bird a bug a flare. What's left, a weather ballon and god damn swamp gas?

It absolutely looks like none of those things. Some brains just seem to omit
what they can't rationally explain.

OP I had no idea you could see Vanenburg launches from Pheonix. I
went out last night and only caught the contrail. But the one about
a week ago. I watched cross the sky to oblivion.Keep that camera going
my lady. These are the times to be alert.

Contrail you say? This is what was left

It was suggested at RN this might be one of the ejected Falcon 9 fairing halves that protect the payload during launch but don't they normally fall into the ocean? From other photos I've seen it looks like the rocket headed in a more westerly direction and I can't find the path it took online.

I do know that 7:32, about 7 minutes after launch, if I went to the other side of my house and looked toward the South, it was still visible but disappeared shortly after that.

I do know that the booster successfully landed on its platform in the ocean from watching the video

Thanks for all the ideas and suggestions. Who knows what it is?

In the shuttle days they used to have chase planes, fighters that would pace the launch as high as altitude would permit.

Is it possible they still do this? It does vaguely resemble the shape of an F22 with perhaps the engines flaming out due to oxygen starvation or some kind of rocket assisted variant or skunk works do-dah.

Looks like sunlight reflecting off a small cloud to me....could be sentient energy of some sort.

originally posted by: AnAlternateOpinion
It was suggested at RN this might be one of the ejected Falcon 9 fairing halves that protect the payload during launch but don't they normally fall into the ocean? From other photos I've seen it looks like the rocket headed in a more westerly direction and I can't find the path it took online.

Those are great pictures, AnAlternateOpinion!

Like you and Boomer1947 suggested, I, too, thought about the protective shrouds. On Wiki I found a cool interactive 3D image of Falcon 9 and whatever is in your picture, in my eyes, doesn't resemble them.

Here's a screenshot from the interactive image...


Also, here is diagram of the flight stages; again, there doesn't appear to be anything else the Falcon loses during the flight and recovery landing.


Image source Wikipedia

I'm stumped for an explanation.

I am almost 100% certain that is separation debris (probably shroud as already mentioned). The location in "front" is just an optical illusion due to altitude and direction of the booster. I do not think it is lens flare mostly because there is some shadowing and the unusual shape.

a reply to: Halfswede

Yes, I think the same, but instead of the shrouds, could it be part of Stage 1 separation?

Here are two short time-lapse videos showing the flight. The second video, in particular, shows something breaking off and falling back to earth... is that the stage 1 booster?

And I agree, perspective can make it appear it in a strange place relative to the racket's continued path.