It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s the International Space Station! This week there are several opportunities to catch a glimpse of the ISS as it passes overhead. Some of these sightings are more amazing than others, and here’s why.
When and where to watch
Sunday: I’ll only touch on this transit briefly, because it’s, frankly, not a great one. The ISS will appear overhead for five minutes at 10:27pm, but its peak altitude will be just 22 degrees. It’ll be in the lower quarter of the sky, and you may be blocked by trees, buildings, etc. However, there are a few other opportunities to see the International Space Station:
Monday: This pass will last for 3 minutes and will make the ISS easy to spot as it will pass fairly high in the sky. The ISS will appear in the northwest 10 degrees of the sky. It will move across the sky and set in the north-northeast part of the sky 66 degrees above the horizon, meaning it will remain at its highest altitude as it disappears. The ISS will be visible for 3 minutes starting at 11:15pm on Monday night. Its highest altitude will be 66 degrees above the horizon, so it will be almost halfway up in the sky. For the best viewing experience, stay away from trees and buildings.
Tuesday: Your only chance to see the ISS on Tuesday will be at 10:26 p.m., when it will be visible for five minutes. This transit will be longer, but will have a lower maximum altitude of 41 degrees. The ISS will appear in the northwestern 10 degrees of the sky. It will move across the sky and set in the eastern sky, 22 degrees above the horizon.
Wednesday: On Wednesday, the ISS will be visible at three altitudes, but two of those times it will be too low to see. This pass will last three minutes. The ISS will appear in the west-northwest 10 degrees of the sky. It will remain at its highest altitude as it disappears, as it sets 41 degrees above the west-southwest horizon. The ISS will be visible at 11:15 p.m. Wednesday night, 41 degrees above the horizon, which will put it in the lower half of the sky.
*Thursday*: This is the best transit of the week and is definitely worth seeing. The transit will be long but easy to spot due to its high position in the sky. The transit will last 5 minutes and will reach a maximum altitude of 79 degrees. It will appear in the west-northwest 10 degrees of the sky at 10:26 PM. It will run across the sky for 5 minutes before setting in the southeast 35 degrees of the sky.
How to find it
In perspective, the horizon is 0 degrees and directly overhead is 90 degrees. If you hold your arm outstretched and make a fist, placing your fist on the horizon, the top would be about 10 degrees. A space station looks like an airplane or a very bright star moving through the sky, except it doesn’t have any flashing lights or direction changes. It also moves a lot faster than a typical airplane; it travels at about 17,500 miles per hour. See the image below for reference. In the example below, the maximum altitude is 66 degrees.
Weus
Want to stay up to date with the Power of 5 weather team wherever you are? Download the News 5 App for free today: apple|Android
Download the StormShield app to receive weather alerts on your iOS and Android devices. apple|Android
Click here to view the interactive radar.
Read and watch our latest Power of 5 predictions here.
Follow the News 5 weather team:
Mark Johnson: Facebook & twitter
Trent McGill: Facebook & twitter
