The International Space Station has now been orbiting the Earth over 15 times a day for nearly ten years, yet how many of us have actually seen it? Although I am an avid space junkie, I saw it the first time on Monday, just moments before the latest launch of Discovery to the ISS at the Kennedy Space Center.
The Discovery launch took place at 6:20 am, so the sky was still dark, the moon visible, and the ISS passed just below the moon and crossed the sky at a surprisingly fast rate of speed. It appeared as a spot of light, as bright or perhaps a bit brighter then the brightest of planets we see in the night sky.
To find out whether the ISS is visible from where you live visit www.esa.int/seeiss and fill in the name of your town. If it is visible the site will give you a star map showing where the ISS is, its path over the sky and the exact time when it can be seen.
The Discovery launch took place at 6:20 am, so the sky was still dark, the moon visible, and the ISS passed just below the moon and crossed the sky at a surprisingly fast rate of speed. It appeared as a spot of light, as bright or perhaps a bit brighter then the brightest of planets we see in the night sky.
To find out whether the ISS is visible from where you live visit www.esa.int/seeiss and fill in the name of your town. If it is visible the site will give you a star map showing where the ISS is, its path over the sky and the exact time when it can be seen.
