This morning I happened to be awake around 6:15 a.m. when I heard a most freaky noise. It sounded like someone had taken a sledgehammer to the frame of our house — the windows and roof vibrated not once, but twice, and I could detect a very faint, bassy rumble from outside. As my senses went on full alert, and I listened for more, I heard what sounded like a swooooosh of something passing by. At first I thought it was a car going down the street, but it was too far away for that.

After checking out the news today, I discovered what it was. The space shuttle Atlantis landed safely this morning at 6:30, and right at 6:15 it flew directly over southwest Florida, producing its signature double sonic booms. Here’s an image of the flight path from NASA: