A SpaceX rocket placed on a present over Los Angeles after launching Sunday night from Vandenberg Area Drive Base on the Santa Barbara County coast.

The exhaust plume from the Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit was illuminated in opposition to the darkening night time sky by the setting solar.

A Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket soars like a candle over downtown LA Friday Dec. 8, 2023.

The rocket and its exhaust plume are typically seen for tons of of miles because it soars alongside the coast, if skies are clear. Launches simply after sundown and earlier than dawn often present the most effective views because the rocket displays the solar’s rays in opposition to the backdrop of a darkened sky.

Hawthorne-based SpaceX launched 96 profitable missions with its Falcon rockets in 2023, eclipsing its earlier annual file of 61 orbital launches in 2022.

SpaceX has a Starlink constellation of satellites orbiting Earth about 340 miles up, shuttled into house by the corporate’s rockets. The Starlink community is designed to ship high-speed web anyplace across the globe.

If mild situations are proper, the satellites seem in a practice as they parade throughout the night time sky. The satellites are typically seen within the first jiffy after sunset and earlier than dawn when the solar is beneath the horizon, however the satellites are excessive sufficient to mirror direct daylight.

Use the FindStarlink tracker to search out the most effective upcoming viewing instances.