Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2020 June 13
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                            SpaceX Demo-2 Launch
                      Image Credit: [3]NASA/Joel Kowsky

   Explanation: Clouds are white but the sky is dark in this [4]snapshot
   of Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. The dramatic daytime
   sky is partly due to the black and white photo captured with a digital
   camera at [5]near-infrared wavelengths. Taken at [6]3:22 p.m. EDT
   Saturday May 30 the launch was pretty dramatic too as a Falcon 9 rocket
   lofted a Crew Dragon spacecrat [7]towards low-Earth orbit. Astronauts
   Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley were onboard, the [8]first crew
   launched from a United States spaceport since the conclusion of the
   Space Shuttle Program in 2011. A few minutes after launch, the Falcon 9
   first stage returned to land on Of Course I Still Love You (that's an
   [9]autonomous spaceport drone ship ...) patiently waiting off the
   Florida coast. The two astronauts guided their craft to a successfull
   docking with the International Space Station's Harmony module at
   [10]10:16 a.m. EDT Sunday May 31.

                     Tomorrow's picture: the happy dance
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [22]Robert Nemiroff ([23]MTU) & [24]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([25]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [26]Specific rights apply.
              [27]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [28]ASD at [29]NASA / [30]GSFC
                           & [31]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2006/demo-2_crewedlaunchIR.jpg
   3. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/49954177052
   4. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/49954177052
   5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130921.html
   6. https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-astronauts-launch-from-america-in-historic-test-flight-of-spacex-crew-dragond
   7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200605.html
   8. https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/crew/index.html
   9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_spaceport_drone_ship
  10. https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2020/05/
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200612.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  15. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  20. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=200613
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200614.html
  22. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  23. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  24. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  25. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  27. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  28. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  29. https://www.nasa.gov/
  30. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  31. http://www.mtu.edu/