NASA Launch - Passing through SUN DOG causes visible ripples to cover sky!!!

NASA Launch - Passing through SUN DOG causes visible ripples to cover sky!!!

As the Solar Launch Dynamics Observatory was launched on Feb. 11th, a strange eerie effect was caused in the sky above. When this new government project was launched, the sonic boom of the launch vehicle going supersonic occurred while it was passing through a SUN DOG.

A sun dog is a prismatic bright spot in the sky caused by sun shining through ice crystals. The Atlas V rocket exceeded the speed of sound in this layer of ice crystals, making the shock wave visible from the ground.

Very unusual effect in the sky!

I could not find a record of this happening before, so it isn't clear that this explanation is really the correct one. Perhaps there is something else going on here and they are just covering it up... any ideas?

Very cool video! Thanks much for sharing that; I've seen many sundogs. Have never seen a rocket passing through one. You can hear the announcer in the clip noting that the Atlas has just gone supersonic. Here's a slow-motion of the same clip:

Norway spiral anyone..

just sayin.

That is very cool. It's also a chance for me to be a little pedantic.

The shock waves produced by an object traveling faster than the speed of sound do not occur at the moment it goes supersonic. They are present as long as it is moving fast enough. A sonic boom is actually continuous but it is only sensed when it passes over the observer. Likewise, the shock waves from the rocket became visible as they passed through the thin cloud layer.

reply to post by Phage


Pedant away........ I always appreciate your clarifications, Phage. Cheers

Originally posted by Ear-Responsible
Norway spiral anyone..

just sayin.

Yeah man. NO WAY that was done by a rocket


Seriously, that is incredibly awesome. If I didn't know it was real I'd have thought the ripples were CGI

Here it is from another angle, starts at about 9:45



[edit on 18-2-2010 by MrVertigo]

Very cool matrix effect.

Of course we know that the explanation isn't the real explanation...it just entered into the sky water and made a ripple.

I readz that from the bible...water below, water above, we live in a bubble.


kidding btw...cool effect, they should always aim for sundogs.

Starred & Flagged - that's honestly the coolest thing I've seen in a long while (since Dec. 9, 2009 anyway).

Although I'm happy to settle on the sonic boom idea for now, it would be interesting to measure the speed the ripples travel away from the rocket (just to make sure it's a sound-based pulse).

Also does anyone know the approximate altitude of the rocket/cloud layer at that point of ascent, as well as the actual speed at that point? I assumed cloud layers responsible for sun dogs were actually thicker than what's perceived in the video, and perhaps even higher.

Again, freakin' cool.

[edit on 18/2/10 by Evasius]

reply to post by Evasius


Cirrus clouds occur above 20,000 feet but not much more than 40,000 feet.

another clarification..

is that it didn't travel 'through' the sundog...

rather it's shockwave had passed through an area of space that was coincidentally and fortunately between the observer and the area of the atmosphere where the ice crystals were reflecting the light.

actually there is no 'sundog' to "fly through" .. rather it's an atmospheric light artifact which is only observable from a specific angle from the ice crystals and the light source (sun).

nothing can go 'through' a sundog because a sundog isn't a 'thing' it's an illusion ... mirage...

-

I'm a little confused so if someone could clear this up for me, that would be great.

So escape velocity is around 25000mph
Speed of sound roughly 770mph

My problem is this. The effect happened quite a while after the rocket launched. Would the rocket not have already accelerated way past the speed of sound by this point if you consider the velocity it actually needs to attain?

I don't know the rate of acceleration for an Atlas V and maybe my understanding of how a sonic boom is generated is wrong but it seems like that explaination could be wrong, to me at least.

anyone?

Originally posted by Chonx
My problem is this. The effect happened quite a while after the rocket launched. Would the rocket not have already accelerated way past the speed of sound by this point if you consider the velocity it actually needs to attain?

As mentioned earlier, the shockwave/sonic boom is constant, not just at the moment of going supersonic. The ripple was not the beginning of a sonic boom, it was just the shockwave momentarily being visible as the rocket passed through a layer of thin clouds.

reply to post by Chonx

The SDO is in Earth orbit so it did not have to reach escape velocity but the rocket could very well have been beyond the speed of sound when it passed through the cloud layer. The shock waves are produced continuously by any object flying faster than the speed of sound.

(You weren't paying attention, were you?)

Sorry guys. Phage, when i re-read your earlier post again the whole thing made much more sense. Had an idiot moment Thanks for clearing that up

This is very cool effect, you don't often get to see sound!

[edit on 18-2-2010 by Chonx]

That was incredible.

Next time there is a good cloud cover like that they should put on a nice supersonic airshow.

I find this entertaining.

Anyhow, for those of you without the youtube, here are some screenshots taken before the sonic boom. In the last image, the boom has begun to occur and some of the effects are visible:

*I wonder what Hoagland will say when he gets ahold of this one?

Torsion fields and beam weapons? Oh My!

I bet he'll go on Coast to Coast and everything. There'll probably be a 'paper' too.

Maybe he will say that one can see the beam hitting the rocket, which is the cause of that bright spot which is visible after the first screenshot.

Since the rocket was not destroyed, perhaps he will say it was us (USA) testing a new armour/shielding to protect against beam weapons.... But he will add that if it was an attack by our enemies or a weapons test by us, the intent may have been to disable the satellite being launched and not the rocket launching it. I predict Hoagland will cover all the bases with his theory; and possibly even suggest that was a failed attack that was hindered by our torsion field shield or that it was a false flag attack that will later be used to convince us we are under attack by aliens.

Either way, he will probably mark the day as a turning point in the Hyperdimensional Torsion Field Nazi Weapon War he has been taking about.




[edit on 19-2-2010 by Exuberant1]

reply to post by downisreallyup


Yeah, I've seen this before. Absolutely awesome.