If you want to see the International Space Station zip over our heads, there is an awesome passing Thursday night (plus a few more chances through the end of the week). Let's discuss how and where to find it below!
Thursday: This is the best passing of the week and definitely worth a look! This will be a long-duration passing and also will be a high altitude passing — so it will be easy to spot. This will be visible for about five minutes with a peak height of 79 degrees, which means it is almost directly overhead (about an 11-degree difference). It will appear in the west-northwestern part of the sky at 10 degrees at 10:26 p.m. It will race across the sky for five minutes and set in the southeastern part of the sky at 35 degrees. The weather looks to be great for being outside as well! Storms will be fading before the sun sets and clouds will be clearing. Temperatures around 10:30 p.m. should be in the low 70s and upper 60s.
HOW TO FIND IT: Set your alarm about ten minutes prior to 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.
There are two other chances to see the ISS over the next couple of days. On Friday, there is an even longer passing! It will be over our heads for six minutes with a peak height of 61 degrees - so not as high as Thursday nights, but still easy to find and will be in the higher half of the sky. It will appear at 10 degrees in the northwestern part of the sky and set at 12 degrees in the east-southeastern part of the sky.
There is one more chance on Sunday! It is another long passing with 6 minutes over our heads, but it is also getting lower in the sky. The peak height will be 48 degrees, so it will be about halfway up the sky. Head outside around 9:30 p.m. it will appear at 9:37 p.m. at 10 degrees in the west-northwestern part of the sky and set at 11 degrees in the southeastern part of the sky.
Let us know if you were able to spot the ISS and if you were able to catch any pictures or videos of the ISS!
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