On the evening of May 16, thunderstorms were rolling through Central Florida. Space enthusiasts in the area, including ourselves, nervously awaited for the skies to clear as a particularly special celestial event loomed overhead. The event in question was a total lunar eclipse! The last one that was visible from the Lake Nona area was all the way back in 2019. This was before … [Read more...]
To Nona & Beyond: The Orion Nebula
Some might assume that in order to see a nebula, you need a telescope. For the most part, these dim, deep sky objects are a challenge to see even through a telescope in the darkest of skies. However, one nebula is an outlier to this notion. The Orion Nebula is the crown jewel of all nebulae in the Northern Hemisphere when it comes to luminosity. It is one of the very few … [Read more...]
To Nona & Beyond: Türksat 5B Launch From Lake Nona
On Dec. 18 at 10:58 p.m., SpaceX’s Türksat 5B mission took to the skies. On board the Falcon 9 rocket was a 4,500-kg. (~9,900-lb.) communication satellite manufactured by Airbus Defense & Space. The satellite’s purpose is to provide telecommunication and broadcasting services to various countries in Afro-Eurasia. The mission was ultimately a success. The first stage, … [Read more...]
To Nona & Beyond: The Lucy Probe
Atlas V’s rocket exhaust painted the morning sky of Cocoa Beach on Oct. 16. It was a beautiful send-off of the Lucy space probe, starting its 12-year mission to explore the ancient remains of our solar system. The name Lucy is derived from the fossilized hominid skeleton, which was discovered in 1974. This paleontological find gave scientists an unprecedented look into one of … [Read more...]
To Nona & Beyond: The Partial Lunar Eclipse
The lunar eclipse on May 26 may not have reached totality in Florida, yet local observers were still greeted with an amazing celestial display. At the eclipse’s maximum point from Lake Nona, the Earth’s umbral shadow covered over half the moon! Moments later, the moon set on the horizon, and the sun rose promptly after. We were at Lake Nona photographing the entire process so … [Read more...]