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ISS FLYOVER ALERT: When and where to look to find the International Space Station in the sky

WEWS

By: Katie McGraw

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There are multiple chances this week to catch a glimpse of the International Space Station in the night sky. Find out when and where to look in this article and whether the weather will hold up for viewing. Let's discuss below...

Thursday: This is the best passing of the week and worth a look. This will be a long-duration and high-altitude passing, making it easier to spot. The ISS will be visible for about six minutes with a peak height of 87 degrees, which means it is almost directly overhead (only a 3-degree difference). It will appear in the southwestern part of the sky at 10 degrees at 8:49 p.m. It will race across the sky and set in the northeastern part of the sky at 15 degrees. The only issue we could run into is an increase in high-level clouds, especially in our southern communities. These clouds will be associated with what remains of Hurricane Francine moving toward the Mississippi River Valley. It will be warm, though, with temperatures in the mid-70s around 8:45.

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Sunday: There is one more chance on Sunday! This will be the longest passing of the week, with 7 minutes to catch a glimpse of the ISS, but it is lower in the sky again. The peak height will be 56 degrees, so it will be about halfway up the sky. It will appear at 8:03 p.m. at 10 degrees in the west-southwestern part of the sky and set at 10 degrees in the northeastern part of the sky. While it is a little too far out at this point (Wednesday afternoon) to discuss cloud cover, the dry spell looks to continue through the weekend, so the weather will likely hold up for this final chance to see the International Space Station

HOW TO FIND IT: Set your alarm about ten minutes before the passing to give yourself enough time to head outside and get your bearings. For perspective, the horizon is at zero degrees, and directly overhead is 90 degrees. If you hold your fist at arm’s length and place your fist resting on the horizon, the top will be about 10 degrees. The space station looks like an airplane or a very bright star moving across the sky, except it doesn’t have flashing lights or change direction. It will also be moving considerably faster than a typical airplane. It travels at about 17,500 mph! Use the image below to help. In the example below, the max height is 66 degrees.

The space station looks like an airplane or a very bright star moving across the sky, except it doesn't have flashing lights or change direction. It will also be moving considerably faster than a typical airplane (airplanes generally fly at about 600 miles (965 km) per hour; the space station flies at 17,500 miles (28,000 km) per hour).

Let us know if you were able to spot the ISS and if you captured any pictures or videos - please send them along to News 5 Cleveland or the Power of 5 Weather Team.