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 evening sky by the setting solar.

The rocket and its exhaust plume are typically visible for hundreds of miles because it soars alongside the coast, if the skies are clear. Launches just after sunset and before sunrise Normally 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 successful missions with its Falcon rockets in 2023, eclipsing its earlier annual report of 61 orbital launches in 2022.

See how Sunday’s SpaceX rocket launch seemed round Southern California

SpaceX has a Starlink constellation of satellites orbiting Earth about 340 miles up, shuttled into space by the company’s rockets, the starlink network 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 evening 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 replicate direct daylight.

use the FindStarlink tracker to search out the most effective upcoming viewing occasions.