Yesterday we East Coasters had the chance to see a real life rocket launch. Did you miss it? You missed it? That's OK. Here's a highlight.


Taken by Ben Cooper of LaunchPhotography, this fantastic shot shows the trail of fire the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer's Minotaur V rocket left behind as it blasted out of orbit.


The picture was shot from atop Rockefeller Center, about 200 miles north of NASA's Wallops Island, Virgina launchpad and that tower in the foreground is (duhhhh) the Empire State Building.

We've got too many damn lights to see stars very often here in NYC, so it's nice to see a serious streak of fire that puts out light on our kind of level. Too bad we can't get this as a permanent fixture.


Image by Ben Cooper/LaunchPhotography with permission