An early morning for amateur photographer LeShun Smith paid off with a stunning shot of a Falcon 9 rocket as it passed over Bermuda.

Mr Smith, 29, said he was near Church Bay to capture the rocket, which travelled overhead just before 2.30am on Tuesday.

He said: “I looked up a couple of the scheduled launches in advance, and this was the one I really wanted to get.

“I figured the best spot would be on South Shore. The launch was scheduled for 2.18am, so I was there and set up for 2.10am.”

The picture also captured Mars, seen just above the rocket.

Mr Smith said he could see the rocket with his naked eye and a longer camera exposure highlighted its trail as it passed.

He added: “I have been dabbling with photography for the last year or two, but I have been mostly using my phone.

“I recently bought a new Nikon to try to improve and, so far, I have been happy with the results.”

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was launched from Kennedy Space Centre to deliver the satellite into orbit.

The satellite is designed to improve telecommunications across Asia.

Coopers Island housed a Nasa tracking station as part of its manned space flight network between 1961 and 1997.

The station tracked every manned Nasa space flight during its use.