VIEWING THE
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION--

Recently we published two photos of the space station as it orbits the Earth 17 times each day. Often it is visible to the naked eye.

This only happens when the station--250 miles above the Earth--is flying in early morning or early evening sunshine while it is then dark on earth. The station becomes visible to us because it is reflecting the sunlight while it is flying through the dark skies of our viewing location.

It is not visible every morning or evening because its orbit does not always pass over or near our viewing location.

To see the station you simply need to know the time of its being visible overhead and the direction of its travel.

To help us with that information, NASA provides a web site here: Click on that link and the web page will appear. If not, copy and paste the following information into your favorite search engine: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/

On the top left of that page you must select your country (the US is the default listing) then click on "Go to Country." Another panel will appear where you must click on your state. That will produce another panel where you will click on a near-by city. There are over 60 cities listed for Ohio. Just pick the one closest to your viewing location. Even if the chosen city is miles away from you it will make only minor differences in your viewing information.

That last selection you make will produce a list of days and times the station will be visible to your location over the next two weeks. If it is not going to be visible to you it will tell you that too.

Obviously you will need nearly cloudless skies with good visibility at your viewing time.

Look at the column entitled "MAX ELEV (DEG)". That tells you the maximum elevation the station will reach in degrees above your horizon. The horizon is at zero degrees and directly overhead is at 90 degrees.

The bigger that number the better your viewing will be. Low elevation numbers should give you a peek but the station could be obscured by nearby hills or other obstructions to your view.

Be sure you have the correct time on your watch. The station will come into view and could cross your viewing area in a minute or so, or, take 3 to four minutes to make its pass depending on its elevation. So, if your watch is off by a few minutes you might miss your sighting. Use your "atomic" clock time or set your watch to the local radio or TV station.

When the station becomes visible to you it likely will appear as the brightest "star" in the sky and it will be moving! Stars on the other hand, appear to be standing still. The station's velocity will be very much like seeing a jet airplane passing overhead at high altitude.

I've seen the station hundreds of times and it still is exciting to ponder the fact there are usually five astronaut/scientists aboard and they will witness 17 sunrises and 17 sunsets each Earth day--minus their sleep time, of course.