The International Space Station can now be seen in our atmosphere, and the good thing is that you'll have several chances to see it over this week.
It will cross the skies at multiple intervals in the evening. Still, hopefully, there will be a break in the cloud cover to allow you to see this remarkable scientific feat.
If you've seen the ISS before, you can skip ahead to the dates and times listed below. But if you haven't, watch for a bright 'star' that rises in the west, arcs through the sky, and then fades from the view out in the east.
It's all about movement: if you see a bright light in the sky that doesn't move, it's a star or a satellite, not the ISS. Many people are currently mistaking Mars and Venus's brilliant planets for the International Space Station (ISS).
The ISS also doesn't flash like an airliner or twinkle like a star; instead, it emits a constant glow.
How to See ISS From The Naked Eye?
According to KTVO, the International Space Station is only noticeable for an hour before sunrise or an hour after sunset. This is due to the station's solar arrays filtering photons back to Earth. But as the ISS passes into the Earth's shade, the station's lights are too dark to be seen by the naked eye.
The International Space Station will fly in the west-northwest from 8:44 p.m. to 8:49 p.m. ET on Monday (March 22). The station will travel through the west-northwest from 7:56 p.m. to 8:02 p.m. ET and again through the north-northwest from 9:35 p.m. to 9:36 p.m. ET on Tuesday (March 23).
NASA said, per Fox News affiliate WXIX, it is the third brightest object in the sky, making it easier to see.
Go out just before the times mentioned above and face west. You'll finally see a 'star' rising from the horizon and turning left. This would be the International Space Station.
Some 'passes' are lighter and higher in quality than others. Still, even the faint, low-resolution passes are interesting to see as you know you're staring at a live spacecraft with a crew of astronauts traveling through the constellations at 17,000 mph.
How to See ISS From This Widget?
To aid in this skywatching effort, NASA has also launched an interactive map on its Spot the Station website. An interactive map displays where to look, where the ISS will travel by, and what time it will do so.
According to NASA, this tool allows users to access their location and choose the best positions in a 50-mile radius to watch the station as it passes over them.
The first segment of the space station was launched into orbit by NASA in 1998. Since then, the orbital laboratory has been assembled into a complex structure that is about the size of a football field in the United States. The arrival of Spot the Station transpired on the 16th anniversary of humans living and working continuously aboard the station.
"The International Space Station's trajectory passes over more than 90 percent of Earth's population. The service notifies users of passes that are high enough in the sky to be easily visible over trees, buildings, and other objects on the horizon," NASA officials said in the statement.
Using the Spot the Station app, users can also sign up to receive an email or text message notifying them when the station will be available in their selected area.
In addition to the new interactive Spot the Station tracker, NASA offers an embeddable Spot the Station Widget (which you can see above), which lets users find out where their location will travel overhead by the station.
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