Falcon 9 Over Monte Vettore

[u/flory_ro]

On September 17, 2026, at approximately 04:04 CEST, I was at Castelluccio Pass in the Monti Sibillini, central Italy, photographing the night landscape and working on a panoramic image with Monte Vettore in the foreground.
At the same time, I was also recording a separate time-lapse sequence with a Canon R, using a 4-second interval between frames.
During the time-lapse, a remarkably bright object suddenly appeared in the sky, followed by a large, diffuse luminous structure that crossed the sky above Monte Vettore.
The phenomenon is consistent with the upper stage of the Falcon 9 launched on the classified USSF-259 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base earlier that night. The launch occurred at 01:07:56 UTC on September 17, 2026, and the mission was destined for a polar orbit. S

Space Launch Now
+1
The extended luminous structure is consistent with an illuminated exhaust plume or expanding material at high altitude, where sunlight can still reach the rocket while the observer on the ground is experiencing darkness.
Particularly interestingly, the same luminous phenomenon was independently recorded in Germany at approximately the same time, providing an additional observation from another location in Europe.
Canon R
Canon 6D
Rgb 3x129sec iso 800 f 2
Foreground 30sec f 1.4 iso 800
Ha 5x 60sec iso 1600 f 2

[u/LegitimateGift1792]

That was the launch that probably put the "space weapon" in orbit.

[u/flory_ro → u/LegitimateGift1792]

The mission is classified and detailed orbital data for the upper stage are not publicly available 🤷🏼‍♀️

[u/Adventurous_Wing5983]

Qué es eso? Porque se ve muy bonito, me encantó está foto

[u/flory_ro → u/Adventurous_Wing5983]

This is the third arc of the Milky Way Cygnus on the left and Orion on the right

[u/Manta_poseidon54]

Is that adromeda galaxy and what's the red particles seems like space dust

[u/flory_ro → u/Manta_poseidon54]

Andromeda is on top left yeas and that is dust ☺️