ISS Pass Over Mid-Missouri
Since its launch in 1998, the International Space Station (ISS) has been above our heads in orbit around the Earth. There it has been for over 17 years, orbiting the earth over 100,000 times. Mid-Missouri has a particularly great view of one of those orbits tomorrow morning.
The ISS will begin to come into view at 6:07 AM coming from the southwest 10 degrees above the horizon. To determine the elevation of 10 degrees, hold your fist out at arms length with the bottom of your fist resting on the horizon- the top of your fist will be about 10 degrees. The ISS will be visible for 7 minutes tomorrow morning under mostly clear skies before sunrise coming in about 30 minutes later. It will move from the west in a high arc to the northeast before leaving your view at 6:14 AM.
It will appear as an airplane or a very bright star moving rapidly across the sky, except unlike airplanes it won’t flash or change direction. It will also be moving much faster than an airplane- orbiting the early morning sky close to 18,000 miles per hour.
For best viewing stay away from any form of light pollution and let your eyes adjust to the darkness for at least 15 minutes. It will be a sight to see so set your alarm early tomorrow morning.
