What you'll actually see

The twilight "jellyfish"

When a rocket launches shortly after sunset or before sunrise, the ground is dark but the rocket climbs into sunlight within a couple of minutes. Its exhaust expands enormously in the thin upper air and the Sun lights it from below the horizon, producing a glowing, translucent plume often called a "jellyfish". These can be seen several hundred miles away; Vandenberg twilight launches are regularly photographed from Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

Night launches

Deep in the night the rocket is in Earth's shadow, so you see the engine itself: a bright, steadily moving light climbing and arcing away from the pad. You may notice stage separation as a brief flare, or two dots drifting apart.

Daytime launches

In daylight a distant rocket is hard to spot. Near the pad you may see a bright dot and a contrail; farther away there's usually nothing to see.

The International Space Station

The ISS looks like a very bright, steady white star gliding smoothly across the sky in two to six minutes, with no blinking lights (that's how you tell it from a plane). You can only see it around dusk and dawn, when the station is still in sunlight but your sky is dark, so some weeks have no visible passes. It rises low in the direction shown on your city page, brightens as it climbs and either sets or suddenly fades out mid-sky as it enters Earth's shadow. Passes reaching 40° or more are the brightest.

Meteor showers

Meteors are brief streaks, so give it time: watch for at least 30–60 minutes from somewhere dark after your eyes adapt. The hourly rate (ZHR) is a best-case number for a perfectly dark sky with the radiant overhead; from a city or with a bright Moon you'll see far fewer. The best hours are usually after midnight, when the radiant is high.

Planets & the Moon

Planets don't twinkle much and stay put among the stars night to night. Venus and Jupiter are the brightest “stars” when they're up. Close pairings of the Moon and a planet are easy, pretty and visible from the middle of a city.

Sonic booms

When a Falcon 9 booster flies back to land near its launch site, it can produce a double or triple sonic boom across nearby communities (for Vandenberg landings, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties; for Cape landings, the Space Coast and Orlando area). Boosters landing on a drone ship at sea make no booms on land.

Why times change

Launches slip for weather, technical checks, range conflicts and upper-level winds. Many launches have a window; the rocket may fly later in it. Always re-check the status close to liftoff.

Viewing tips

• Face the right way: use the compass on each launch page. The mint arrow is where it first appears; the amber arc shows where it travels.
• Open horizon: distant launches stay low. Beaches, rooftops and hilltops help.
• Timing: head out 10 minutes early and watch for 5–10 minutes after liftoff. Far away, it takes a minute or two to rise above the horizon.
• Clouds beat distance: a marine layer or overcast hides everything.
• Photos: use a tripod and night mode or a 2–10 second exposure; lock focus at infinity.
• ISS: be outside two minutes before the start time, face the “appears” direction, and look for a steady light moving faster than a plane.
• Aurora: look north, get away from city lights, and let your phone camera do the work; it often sees color your eyes can't.