The International Space Station will fly high above the National Capital area, very likely becoming the brightest object in the sky. Weather permitting, the space station should be easily seen using just the naked eye. Even if numerous clouds are present, the station is now so bright that she can be dramatic between clouds, or behind light cloud. ISS will rise in the WSW about 9:49 pm EDT, moving up and to the right. About 3 minutes later, she will be in the West, passing between the bright star Arcturus on the left with the Big Dipper to the right. When halfway from horizon to zenith, ISS will be at azimuth 279 degrees. Half a minute later, she will culminate high in the northwest, being about 55 degrees altitude above azimuth 326 degrees. 28 seconds later, ISS will be due north, passing about 10 degrees above Polaris, the bright North Star. She will descend into the northeastern horizon. ISS will be illuminated from horizon to horizon. It is not possible to give the exact time of the passage, but there is an excellent chance that these times are within just a very few minutes of the actual flyover. ISS will appear as a bright moving point, perhaps similar in appearance to a distant airliner. Very distant, as she will come no closer than 318 miles, and will be moving 5 miles per second.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 18:35:47 +0000
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