Historic Moon launch: Your Suncoast viewing guide

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - History will be lifting off from Florida’s Space Coast, and you don’t have to drive three hours to see it.

The Artemis II mission will send four astronauts on the first human journey toward the Moon since 1972.

Liftoff is scheduled Wednesday at 6:24 p.m. from Cape Canaveral, but don’t expect to see anything right away. From 150 miles away, it takes time to climb high enough to clear our horizon.

So here on the Suncoast, your moment is right around 6:27 p.m.

And when it appears, it won’t look like a tiny rocket.

It’ll be a brilliant, fast-moving point of orange-white light climbing rapidly into the sky, with an exhaust plume that can stretch across the upper atmosphere like a glowing golden tail.

No binoculars needed. From the Suncoast, we can see every rocket launch from Cape Canaveral with the naked eye, and this one is powered by the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built, so nothing we’ve ever seen from here will compare to this one.

Now the beach may seem like a good place to watch the launch, but condos, dunes, and tree lines along the coast can block that low eastern horizon.

Think inland. Think elevation. The pedestrian area of the Ringling Bridge, rooftop bars, open athletic fields, even mall parking lots, anywhere you have a clear view to the east-northeast.

And keep the NASA live stream open on your phone. Delays are not uncommon, and if the window shifts, that’s how you’ll know.

So with a 6:24 p.m. liftoff, at about 6:27, look east-northeast. For about a minute, you’ll watch four astronauts climb toward the Moon, the first humans to make that journey since Apollo 17, 53 years ago.

Even from 150 miles away, it’ll give you chills.