LOOK UP... YOU MAY SPOT THE SPACE STATION
Wednesday, January 11th, 2006 -- 11:48 AM
Wisconsin residents may be able to catch a glimpse of the international space station flying overhead this week. The space station flies over the state almost daily, but it's only visible from the ground just a few times a year. "The space station orbits the Earth every hour-and-a-half or so," explains Jim Lattis, director of the University of Wisconsin Space Place. "If it happens to pass over our location when it's dark enough to see something like that in the sky, and when the space station is still in sunlight, then we can see it overhead."
You don't even need a telescope. But you'll need to look fast...since it takes just a few minutes for it to move across the sky.
"What you'll see is an object that looks like a star, except it will be moving with a noticeable speed," Lattis says.
The space station may appear dimmer or brighter than other stars, Lattis says.
The station can be viewed through the middle of next week, although Lattis says the best dates are coming. The general rule is, the higher in the sky it is just after sunset or just before sunrise, the easier it will be to spot.
Learn more: [url=http://www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/index.html]Nasa Site on Space Station[/url]
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