ISS flies fast & bright over North America and Europe

William Atkins
Wednesday, 07 May 2008 19:29

Science - Space

During the month of May 2008, the International Space Station will be brightly seen over the evening skies of North America and Europe as it crosses Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, and the Moon.


In the first part of May, the ISS will be seen racing across the pre-dawn sky, along with much more stationary sightings of the planet Jupiter and the stars of the Summer Triangle.

In the second half of May, the International Space Station will be seen in the sky in the early evening hours. During these frequent sightings in the evening sky, the ISS will be crossing the paths of the planets Saturn and Mars, and Earth’s Moon.

To find out when you (in the United States and Canada) can see the International Space Station in your local evening sky, go to SpaceWeather.com, specifically: "Flybys."

According to the site, people in Europe are currently unable to access the data, but they will have their own version in the near future.

However, you folks in Europe can access the Heaven’s Above website for tracking information on the ISS in your local European areas.

Anyone (anywhere) can also download the NASA SkyWatch program for the tracking of the ISS over your city.

For information as to where Saturn and Mars are in the sky, along with other celestial objects in the night sky, please go to: “Your Sky” or “AstroViewer.”

There are plenty of other websites available, too, by doing a search of “Planets skymap” or other similar search words.

For your interest, a daily status report on the activities aboard the International Space Station can be found at SpaceRef.com’s “NASA ISS On-Orbit Status.”

The crew of the Space Station are expecting a visit from the crew of STS-124 in June, if all goes well with pre-mission preparations for the 13-day mission.

Space shuttle Discovery and its STS-124 crew are currently scheduled to lift off on May 31, 2008, for another assembly mission to the ISS.

Sightings of the double flyover of the Space Station and the Space Shuttle are always interesting to see. Check them out early in June as Discovery approaches the station and later then it leaves for its voyage home.