This impressive image from the Hubble Space Telescope is not a distant galactic nebula. The bright cloud of gas and dust caught the attention of skywatchers in the early morning hours of August 29. The image was captured at 3:17 a.m. from Titusville, Florida, and is from SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launched as part of the CRS-23 mission.

Taken about three minutes after the rocket's launch, the image shows smoke and exhaust trails from the separation of the rocket's first and second stages rising into the dark sky. The bright spot at the bottom represents the second stage orbiting the Earth, while the trail at the top is from the first stage. The first stage booster returned to successfully land on the autonomous drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” in the Atlantic.

September 4, 2021 Astronomy Photo of the Day (NASA APOD)

Image Source & Copyright: Dennis HuffImage Source & Copyright: Dennis Huff