Spectacular SpaceX Rocket Launch Lights Up the Southern California Night Sky

It was a night sky sight so dazzling, the mayor of Los Angeles told everyone not to worry about aliens: a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket streaking into the evening sky, leaving a brilliant glowing plume in its wake. 

The Falcon 9 launched into orbit late Sunday (Oct. 7) from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base about 158 miles (254 kilometers) north of Los Angeles to deliver the Earth-observation radar satellite SAOCOM-1A into orbit for Argentina's national space agency. That mission was a success, and SpaceX also landed the first stage of the Falcon 9 at a new site (Landing Zone 4) near its Vandenberg launchpad in a historic first. But it was the spectacular views of the rocket streaking into the night sky, its two stages clearly visible after separation, that wowed spectators across the region. 

Photographer Joaquin Baldwin captured this spectacular image of SpaceX's successful Falcon 9 rocket launch and landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Oct. 7, 2018. The streak at top right is the Falcon 9 first stage returning to Earth. (Image credit: Joaquin Baldwin via Twitter and Instagram)

"I watched the launch from Santa Ynez peak, about 40 miles from the base," said Joaquin Baldwin, a Disney feature animation layout artist and photographer who shared a dazzling view of the launch on Twitter. "It was spectacular, the fog lit up and quickly the horizon turned red. After the second stage deployed, the Falcon 9 drew spirals of light in the sky and a massive blue and magenta cloud formed. It looked as if we were staring into a nebula, with two bright eyes staring back."

Baldwin's image also shows the first stage returning to Earth.

"The descent back to base was fiery and almost blinding, while the payload left behind a trail that looked like a distant comet," Baldwin told Space.com. You can see more of Baldwin's launch photography via his Twitter page and Instagram page

Baldwin wasn't the only one to capture amazing views of SpaceX's launch. Here's a roundup of the most eye-popping images on Twitter posted shortly after the successful launch. The images are reminiscent of a dazzling SpaceX launch in December of 2017 that created similarly amazing views. 

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Editor's note: If you capture an amazing photo of video of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launch and would like to share it with Space.com for a story or gallery, send images and comments in to: spacephotos@space.com

Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

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Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.