A SpaceX rocket launches and returns to earth in a single, stunning timelapse photo

SpaceX launched an unmanned Falcon 9 rocket just after midnight this morning, July 18, and a stunning timelapse photo reveals just how extraordinary the event was.

Following its launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, SpaceX successfully brought its first-stage booster back to earth and landed it upright. It’s the second time Elon Musk’s company has managed the feat on dry land. As a remarkable takeaway, AP photographer John Raoux took a beautiful timelapse image of the launch and recovery, capturing in a single frame twin beams of light: one from the rocket launch (on the left), and the other from its booster returning to Earth.

SpaceX also released its own timelapse of the launch and return: