The International Space Station will be visible to those in the Twin Lakes Area this week and next.
On Thursday, the station will appear, at 4:58 a.m., 10 degrees above north-northwest for 6 minutes and disappear 10 degrees above east-southeast.
A second sighting will be visible Thursday night at 9:39, it will appear 10 degrees above south-southwest and disappear 26 degrees above south.
The International Space Station is visible to the naked eye and is said to look like a fast-moving plane, only at a much higher altitude.
The flyover schedule provided by spotthestation.nasa.gov indicates the space station is both appearing and disappearing from the same direction. NASA explains the Spot the Station Software used rounds off the directions to the nearest cardinal and intercardinal directions, resulting in it seeming as though the space station will be appearing and disappearing in the same direction, even though it is traveling across the sky. This is caused due to the space station quickly moving into or out of the Earth’s dark shadow.
Known as the third brightest object in the sky, the International Space Station is Earth’s only microgravity laboratory. The football field-sized platform is said to host a plethora of science and technology experiments that are continuously being conducted by crew members, or are automated.
The space station will be visible at various times throughout the week and into next Thursday, where the last sighting recorded will happen for roughly 4 minutes around 8:55 p.m., appearing 10 degrees above west-northwest and disappearing 10 degrees above north-northeast.
For the complete flyover schedule and other locations of visibility, visit spotthestation.nasa.gov
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