The indexnightdatable to the day
Bioluminescence, Indian River Lagoon
Fires when new moon ±5 days AND water temp > 82F
Photograph Bruce Anderson (University of Stellenbosch). · CC BY 2.0
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.
Dates worth protecting
- Fri, June 4, 2027in 8 months
- Sun, July 4, 2027in 9 months
- Mon, August 2, 2027in 10 months
- Wed, September 1, 2027in 11 months
- Thu, September 30, 2027in 12 months
Keyed to the new moon nearest this season. Moon dates come from a mean lunar month and can be a day out — check one before you commit a four-hour drive to it.
- Where
- Haulover Canal, Merritt Island NWR
- Drive
- 95 minutes from Lakeland
- In season
- June through September
- Peak
- July and August
- Certainty
- datable to the day
- Drone
- no
How often we have called it on
We have called this on 1 of the 6 Sundays we looked. Last on September 13. That is our own weekly verdict rather than a measurement of the trigger, and a condition that fires midweek can pass between two builds.
Flying here
National Wildlife Refuges: Launching, landing or operating from refuge land is prohibited without a special use permit. Overflight is again an FAA matter rather than the refuge's, but disturbing wildlife is separately unlawful and a drone over a roost or a colony is disturbance regardless of altitude. Treat this as a no unless you have the permit.
From the field
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.