Space Station Visible tonight....Thursday 10/22

[Julian]

Not sure if everyone has seen the ISS (International Space Station), but if you are curious and want to see it, most of the midwest and east coast will be able to see it well tonight. It is the 3rd brightest object in the sky (Sun, Moon, ISS) and can be clearly seen traversing the sky when it has the sun on it. Fun for kids and adults!

In the Chicago area it will be visible at 6:44pm (really good view tonight!!)
Thu Oct 22, 6:44 PM
Duration Visible 6 min
Max Height 86°
Appears 10° above NW
Disappears 10° above SE

In the Raleigh area it will be visible at 7:47pm (Ok view tonight)
Thu Oct 22, 7:47 PM
4 min
75°
10° above NW
56° above ESE

Raleigh has another better view on:
Sun Oct 25, 6:46 PM
5 min
84°
24° above NW
10° above SE

You can sign up for your own alerts at:
http://spotthestation.nasa.gov

 

[Volffas]

I enjoy watching the ISS zoom by. I have a Nasa app on my phone that alerts me when a flyby will happen. It also tells me what direction it will start and end, the highest degree it will be in the sky and how long it will be visible.

I have seen it so many times now that I don't usually go out and look unless it is visible for over 3 or 4 minutes. 6 minutes is the most that I ever see it, and that only happens when it flies just about directly overhead.

I highly recommend it!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gov.nasa

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Thanks @Julian I will be out this weekend with my boy to check this out!

 

[rkluck]

Thanks for sharing! This is cool.

 

[jetboater4life]

I just added the alert. Thanks for sharing. Hope to get a good view at 6:43pm from SE MN.

 

[Binnster]

Very cool - just set up the alerts, will be fun to see it.

 

[buckbuck]

Wow. It was plain as the moon and moved fast. Thanks for the heads up, Julian.

 

[Volffas]

it's flying over Alexandria Kentucky right now.

 

[GTBRMC]

We had a spectacular view of it, clear sky from horizon to horizon only broken by a few shadowy contrails. Best view I've seen of ISS in years.

My youngest was very excited, she's been studying astranaut Scott Kelly in school. She was going on and on about him likely enjoying red lettuce as he flew over - he's been growing it on ISS, apparently.

Anyway, great family fun, thanks for the heads up!

 

[Julian]

We watched it too....great view super high.....

 

[txav8r]

For years now, I have occasionally looked at this website...
http://www.heavens-above.com/?lat=33.4731&lng=-97.0774&loc=Unspecified&alt=234&tz=CST
It is a great tool to look at all the manmade objects that pass overhead with good info on them and their whereabouts. Heavens-above has long been a leader in the intel on these objects. I suspect that some of the intel comes from them, other than NASA! We may all remember bar games where we have won money or beer, or forced our friends to down his beer...well, this website lends itself to that in many ways. Imagine, taking your friends into the country, literally in the middle of nowhere, and predicting a bright flash of light (iridium flares), that lasts only a second or two, knowing the exact time elevation and azimuth that it will occur...kind of like that comet commercial, there the guy says it happens only every 100 years, and then looks away when it whizzes by! We don't get the ISS here in Texas like the northern midwest or Raleigh apparently, or the Hubble for that matter. The elevation is always pretty low. But I see where we may get a good view here in a few weeks with it for 2.5 minutes at an elevation of 74 degrees and a brightness of -3.9. The lower the number, the brighter. I have seen the ISS from 3 continents and a number of islands. If you update your location on the home page, you can always look and see what is happening that night or morning, and find many objects to look at. We all may have seen the satellites slowly crossing the sky and wondered...with this website, you can not only see them, but know when/where and what object it is, complete with when/where/who launched it! It is a great tool and your kids will love it if they don't need dazzle on the website itself. Iridium Flares...You can find the track across the sky or across the ground referencing a google map, and then position yourself directly under the path. This is the sun reflecting off of a solar panel or similar with direct mirror reflection onto a focused location on the earth, and moving fast across us until the reflection angle is no longer illuminating onto the earth. Being in that spot as it passes is like seeing a hole in the sky open, and the light of heaven shine through. The darker the area around you, the more negative the number of the object, and the closer to the actual track, the better. Be sure to change it to your location, then find the map, then go to a dark area along that path along the peak of the track. LOL...none of this makes much sense, but play with the website, it will! I see a -7.9 in the neighborhood of Raleigh in a few days @Julian , you can have fun with this!

 

[Volffas]

For years now, I have occasionally looked at this website...
http://www.heavens-above.com/?lat=33.4731&lng=-97.0774&loc=Unspecified&alt=234&tz=CST
It is a great tool to look at all the manmade objects that pass overhead with good info on them and their whereabouts. Heavens-above has long been a leader in the intel on these objects. I suspect that some of the intel comes from them, other than NASA! We may all remember bar games where we have won money or beer, or forced our friends to down his beer...well, this website lends itself to that in many ways. Imagine, taking your friends into the country, literally in the middle of nowhere, and predicting a bright flash of light (iridium flares), that lasts only a second or two, knowing the exact time elevation and azimuth that it will occur...kind of like that comet commercial, there the guy says it happens only every 100 years, and then looks away when it whizzes by! We don't get the ISS here in Texas like the northern midwest or Raleigh apparently, or the Hubble for that matter. The elevation is always pretty low. But I see where we may get a good view here in a few weeks with it for 2.5 minutes at an elevation of 74 degrees and a brightness of -3.9. The lower the number, the brighter. I have seen the ISS from 3 continents and a number of islands. If you update your location on the home page, you can always look and see what is happening that night or morning, and find many objects to look at. We all may have seen the satellites slowly crossing the sky and wondered...with this website, you can not only see them, but know when/where and what object it is, complete with when/where/who launched it! It is a great tool and your kids will love it if they don't need dazzle on the website itself. Iridium Flares...You can find the track across the sky or across the ground referencing a google map, and then position yourself directly under the path. This is the sun reflecting off of a solar panel or similar with direct mirror reflection onto a focused location on the earth, and moving fast across us until the reflection angle is no longer illuminating onto the earth. Being in that spot as it passes is like seeing a hole in the sky open, and the light of heaven shine through. The darker the area around you, the more negative the number of the object, and the closer to the actual track, the better. Be sure to change it to your location, then find the map, then go to a dark area along that path along the peak of the track. LOL...none of this makes much sense, but play with the website, it will! I see a -7.9 in the neighborhood of Raleigh in a few days @Julian , you can have fun with this!

There is an iridium flare app in the Google Play Store as well. Those are really fun to look at, and happen quiet frequently. Thanks for reminding me, I will have to see if I can catch a couple this weekend.

 

[justason]

I have the ISS finder APP on my phone......its cool........you can set it to ring an alarm as it comes by.

SKYVIEW is another cool astronomy APP.....

 

[biglar155]

I missed it this time, but back in June of 2007 I captured a few shaky pictures of something you won't get to see anymore: The Space Shuttle had just un-docked from the ISS as was moving away.