We caught the rocket launch of THEMIS, a satellite designed to study the aurora.
We arrived in Florida on Friday, the day THEMIS was supposed to be launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida. We were down near Jupiter (yes, that's its real name), Florida, about 130 miles south of the cape. The launch was scrubbed on Friday because of wind, so it was rescheduled for the next day between 6:01 and 6:20 pm.
Saturday was a clear day. The sun was setting during the launch window. We had no idea if the rocket launch would even be visible from this far south, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to walk out and take a look. We were staying in an ocean-front condo, so it would be easy to get a clear view to the north. I left the house at 6:00 pm exactly (according to the clock I was reading) and had only taken about five steps out into the grass and turned to look north when I saw a object that looked like a bright oblong cylinder of fire streaking up into the sky with a white tail of smoke behind it. I turned and ran back to the door to yell to the others to come see. Then I ran back onto the lawn. I never did make it to the beach. The rocket was traveling upward very quickly, first mostly upward with only a slight angle to the east, and then it soon turned into a mostly eastward direction. I had taken my camera out with me and managed to snap four pictures before my batteries suddenly died. Even if they had not, there wouldn't have been much left to see as the bright burning point soon faded from view and all that was left was the smoke trail.
My whole family got outside in time to witness the launch. They thought it was pretty cool-looking. I told my astronomy-loving 6-year-old son that the rocket was sending a satellite into space to learn more about the Northern Lights. The next day he saw video of the aurora on the Weather Channel and said he wished he could see them. Not the best timing since we were way down in Florida at the moment. But he should have some chances coming up. We are now back in the snowy north on the verge of March, which is historically one of the more active months for aurora.
