The indexnight skiesCentral Florida
Night sky photography in Central Florida
Thirteen of the thirty-seven subjects here are shot after dark, which is more than any other kind — the peninsula is flat, the horizons are long, and the Milky Way core sits low in the south from spring to late summer. Every one of them turns on the same two facts: whether the moon is below the horizon, and whether the sky is properly dark rather than merely dim. Both are computed here for specific nights rather than left to a phase calendar.
The weekly build has been paused since October 6, 2026. The seasons and dates below still hold. Events are the ones the last finished build found, in the week of 2026-09-13, that have not happened yet — anything announced since is missing, and nothing here reflects this week's weather.
All 13
13 subjects across the year, soonest first · open one to see what fires it
On now
Conditions are met, or the season is open. Go this week.
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Jay Horn · CC BYBlazing star & fall wildflowers, Lake Wales Ridge scrubLake Wales Ridge preserves · 40 min · drone variesIn seasonnowFires when in season; endemic scrub blooms found nowhere else
Scrub endemics that grow nowhere else on earth, and the bloom is a few weeks on ridge sand rather than a season.
NASA · CC0 1.0Cape Canaveral launches (night launches favored)Titusville causeways / Rotary Riverfront Park · 105 min · drone noIn seasonnowFires when LL2 status Go; commit only at the T-24h recheck (40% of night dates slip)
Night ascents = long-exposure streaks; dawn/dusk = jellyfish plumes. Celestial print demand rides every launch.
Jim Vajda · CC BY 2.0Orionid meteor showerdark-sky sites · 90 min · drone permitOct 21in 2 daysFires when peak Oct 21-22
Next Wed, Oct 21 — the shower's peak night. Moon dates come from a mean lunar month and can be a day out; check before you commit a four-hour drive to one.
Halley's dust, on a broad flat maximum — one clouded night does not cost you the shower.
Sonny SideUp · CC BY 2.0Supermoon rises over the Tampa skylineBallast Point / Riverwalk sightlines · 45 min · drone check TPA gridOct 26in 7 daysFires when full moon ≥ 360,000 km perigee from the celestial feed; azimuth aligned with a skyline sightline
Next Mon, Oct 26 — the full moon. Moon dates come from a mean lunar month and can be a day out; check before you commit a four-hour drive to one.
The size is the least of it. The picture is the moon against something built, which needs a sightline scouted in advance and a long lens from a long way back.
In the next few weeks
Close enough to protect a date and book the time off.
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Jérémy Capelle · CC0Comb-jelly bioluminescenceIndian River Lagoon · 95 min · drone noNov 9in 3 weeksFires when new moon ±5 days
Next Mon, Nov 9 — the new moon nearest this season. Moon dates come from a mean lunar month and can be a day out; check before you commit a four-hour drive to one.
A colder, sparser glow than the dinoflagellate bloom — points rather than a sheet, and it wants a far longer exposure for far less light.
Nonbinary-Naturalist · CC0Manatee aggregations — Blue Spring runBlue Spring State Park, Orange City · 75 min · drone noNovseason opensFires when 2+ consecutive nights ≤ 48F; verify count via webcam before driving
Daily posted counts + live webcams = the only pre-drive-verifiable wildlife subject in the region. Park hits capacity by 9-10a after cold snaps.
Nonbinary-Naturalist · CC0Manatee aggregations — Three Sisters SpringsCrystal River NWR · 75 min · drone noNovseason opensFires when 2+ consecutive nights ≤ 48F (NWS forecast)
Season is Nov 15 - Mar 31. Boardwalk needs no permit; refuge prohibits drones. Peak is the 1-3 days during/after a hard cold snap.
Later this season
Worth knowing now so the gear and the drive are ready.
2
ESO/G. Lombardi · CC BY 4.0Geminid meteor showerKissimmee Prairie / Colt Creek SP · 90 min · drone permitDec 14in 8 weeksFires when peak Dec 13-14; moon-phase check
Next Mon, Dec 14 — the shower's peak night. Moon dates come from a mean lunar month and can be a day out; check before you commit a four-hour drive to one.
Best Florida shower — high radiant, warm nights.
eberhard grossgasteiger · CC0 1.0Quadrantid meteor showerdark-sky sites · 90 min · drone permitJan 3, 2027in 3 monthsFires when peak Jan 3-4; short sharp maximum
Next Sun, Jan 3, 2027 — the shower's peak night. Moon dates come from a mean lunar month and can be a day out; check before you commit a four-hour drive to one.
A maximum measured in hours rather than nights, so a few hours of cloud costs the entire year.
Further out
Not yet. Here so the year can be planned around it.
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Openverse contributor · CC0 1.0Milky Way core seasonKissimmee Prairie Preserve (dark-sky park) · 90 min · drone permitMarseason opensFires when new moon ±4 days AND transparency forecast clear
Astro pads book out at new moon — booking gate two weeks ahead.
Georgfotoart · CC BY-SA 4.0Eta Aquariid meteor showerdark-sky sites · 90 min · drone permitMay 6, 2027in 7 monthsFires when peak May 5-6, pre-dawn radiant
Next Thu, May 6, 2027 — the shower's peak night. Moon dates come from a mean lunar month and can be a day out; check before you commit a four-hour drive to one.
A pre-dawn radiant, so this is the shower that costs a night's sleep rather than an evening.
Bruce Anderson (University of Stellenbosch). · CC BY 2.0Bioluminescence, Indian River LagoonHaulover Canal, Merritt Island NWR · 95 min · drone noJunseason opensFires when new moon ±5 days AND water temp > 82F
Dinoflagellate glow. Shore tripod works on the north bank; kayak charters sell out at new moon. The comb-jelly season that follows in November is dimmer but empty of tourists.
National Park Service · CC0 1.0Perseid meteor showerColt Creek State Park · 35 min · drone permitAug 12, 2027in 10 monthsFires when peak Aug 11-13; moon-phase check
Next Thu, Aug 12, 2027 — the shower's peak night. Moon dates come from a mean lunar month and can be a day out; check before you commit a four-hour drive to one.
The most reliable shower of the year and the one most often spoiled by an August moon — a peak that lands near full is worth nothing.
Which of these can you actually shoot?
Every subject states the glass it needs. Say what is in your bag and the index says plainly which of these your longest lens reaches — no account, and your kit stays in the address bar.