CLEVELAND — There is an awesome passing of the International Space Station over our area on Thursday evening! It is not too late either, so bring the kids outside with you to look!
All you have to do is head outside around 8:50 p.m. and face the west southwest. This is the direction it will first appear at 10 degrees at 8:57 p.m. It will climb quickly in the sky to reach that peak height of 65 degrees, so it will be in the upper half of the sky. This is also a long-duration passing and will be visible for six minutes.
It will appear in the WSW part of the sky at 10 degrees at 8:57 p.m. It will race across the sky and set in the northeastern part of the sky at 15 degrees, so it will move in an arch across our sky.
The weather looks fantastic for viewing as well, with all of this dry weather and mostly clear skies!
HOW TO FIND IT: Set your alarm about ten minutes before the passing to give yourself enough time to head outside and get your bearings.
For perspective, the horizon is at zero degrees, and directly overhead is 90 degrees. If you hold your fist at arm’s length and place it resting on the horizon, the top will be about 10 degrees.
The space station looks like an airplane or a very bright star moving across the sky, except it doesn’t have flashing lights or change direction. It will also be moving considerably faster than a typical airplane (airplanes generally fly at about 600 miles (965 km) per hour); the space station flies at 17,500 mph! (28,000 km) per hour). Use the image below to help.
In the example below, the max height is 66 degrees, so very similar to the passing on Thursday.
Let us know if you were able to spot the ISS and if you captured any pictures or videos - please send them along to News 5 Cleveland or the Power of 5 Weather Team.
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