NASA's SDO

NASA's SDO destroys a Sundog on launch.
Cool video.

The Solar Dynamics Observatory was launched, successfully, Feb 11th.

On the way up, the rocket crossed a high altitude layer of ice crystals - a wispy cloud - which was showing a Sundog - the rocket visibly rippled the cloud as it passed through - looks very cool.

SDO video link

Full launch video - ripples at ~ 1:50+

see also GrrlScientist

More like this

tags: Sonic Boom Meets Sun Dog, amazing science, sonic boom, Atlas V, rocket launch, amazing, beautiful, atmosphere, physics, astronomy, streaming video This amateur video is absolutely amazing: recording the precise moment when a rocket goes supersonic, which coincides with the moment it passes…
Yesterday was a great day for space images. First, celebrating Hubble's 20th anniversary (via Wired): This craggy fantasy mountaintop enshrouded by wispy clouds looks like a bizarre landscape from Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" or a Dr. Seuss book, depending on your imagination. The NASA Hubble…
NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory had a launch failure. Taurus launch out of Vandenberg last night, tried to stay up to see if I could see the launch - often possible from the area - but I crashed before scheduled launch time. Apparently payload failed to separate after stage burnout and the…
The Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) has been all snapped together and stuff and is ready to be launched into outer space from Vandenberg in November. This will be a major eye in the sky for cosmology, since it will be able to see things that heretofore only space insects could see....…

Wait, where was the sundog?

And some say there's no evidence that human activity has atmospheric effects!

Seriously, that's so rare, what are the odds of it happening on a solar mission? Hmmm. Sounds portentous.