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Great OpportunityTo See The ISS Tonight

| April 16, 2017 @ 5:30 am

Image from NASA.gov.

I grew up during the time as the Space Shuttle program was first getting started, and loved watching nearly every lift-off of the program on TV. My best memory of my younger life as a child was going to Cape Canaveral and getting to see the second mission of the Challenger blast off. To this day, I can vividly remember the violent shaking of the ground, and the continuous thunder coming from those three main engines and the two solid rocket boosters. I hated to see the fleet be retired, but I still find space very interesting.

Getting to see the International Space Station fly overhead in orbit is still a big thing to me as well. Knowing that most of it was put in orbit by the Space Shuttle program. Knowing that some of the sections of that magnificent machine floating far overhead was engineered by people just a few miles north of me in Huntsville, sort of gives me a little pride. Every time I see the ISS, I will run inside and tell my wife and kids to come see it. It is truly amazing to see, especially since it’s traveling at 17,150 MPH (or 5 miles per second).

We have a great opportunity coming up tonight to see the International Space Station as it passes overhead as it continues to orbit the Earth.

Tonight the ISS will be visible for a total of 5 minutes. It will appear at approximately 7:44 PM at 24º above NW. It will have a maximum height of 75º traversing the sky from NW to SE, before disappearing at 10º above SE at approximately 7:51 PM. Once again, weather will not be a factor as skies will be partly cloudy at worst.

Category: ALL POSTS, Spacey Stuff

About the Author ()

Scott Martin is an operational meteorologist, professional graphic artist, musician, husband, and father. Not only is Scott a member of the National Weather Association, but he is also the Central Alabama Chapter of the NWA president. Scott is also the co-founder of Racecast Weather, which provides forecasts for many racing series across the USA. He also supplies forecasts for the BassMaster Elite Series events including the BassMaster Classic.

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