Space Forum / Shuttle / April 2006

For me, the most satisfying science fiction films lay off the fantasy and
stick to real or plausible near-future science.

The question posed is this:  How should rocket engines be visualized as
viewed from behind when fired in space?  In the early days of T.V., the
flames,smoke, and roaring exhaust clearly were incorrect.  In recent
movies, a bright glow in the nozzles signal their operation, with smoke and
flame absent, but still with some dramatic license taken with audio
effects.  Perhaps we can stretch the audio to imagine the sound is what an
astronaut would hear from within the craft, rather than outside it.
Presumably there is no sound travel in space, even transiently when the
immediate area is tenuously gasified.

Real video of the Moon lander taking off seemed to indicate there is
nothing to see or hear at all; no smoke, no glow, no nothing except the
surface disturbance by an obvious blast of exhaust gas.  Perhaps the video
was not of sufficient resolution or sensitivity.  Surely astronauts must
have seen what if any visual phenomena there is when rocket engines fire in
space.  Does anybody have the real answer, which may benefit special
effects people in the motion picture business?