Vince_Condella's Blog

It's great to have clear skies this evening (Wednesday) for viewing the International Space Station (ISS) as it flies overhead. Actually it will be low in the southwest sky around 7:30 p.m.

Specifically, look for a bright white dot to appear low in the west at 7:26 p.m., then move from right to left, passing a little below halfway up in the sky in the southwest at 7:28 p.m., then continuing towards the south, eventually fading into darkness at 7:31 p.m. low in the south-southeast sky.

The ISS is the bright white dot, in low Earth orbit and containing 3 astronauts: 1 U.S. and 2 Russian.  They are currently packing up a Soyuz spacecraft that is docked with the ISS.  It will take 2 astronauts back to Earth later this month.  Meanwhile, another Soyuz spacecraft will launch from Russia on October 12 and dock with the ISS on October 14.  It is carrying 2 U.S. and 1 Russian astronaut.

The ISS is being built as a cooperative effort between many countries of the world.  Construction began in 1998.  It is about 85% complete.  It orbits approximately 217 miles above Earth, moving at a speed just over 17,000 miles per hour.  It completes nearly 16 orbits of our planet each 24 hours.  That's a lot of sunrises and sunsets to see everyday!

When you view that bright white dot, you are seeing the ISS due to reflected sunlight.  When it seems to disappear and fade to black in the southeast sky tonight around 7:31 p.m., it will really be entering the Earth's shadow.  Without the Sun illuminating the spacecraft, we can't see it.

If you would like to see a schedule of when the ISS will be visible to us again, or when any other satellites are visible to the naked eye, go to the Heavens Above web site HERE.