International Space Station visible this week

The International Space Station will pass over Houston several times this coming week. Here's when and where you need to look this week:

Monday, July 6

• 9:38 PM  Appearing from the southwest
• 9:41 PM  Look toward the southeast
• 9:44 PM  Disappearing into the northeast

Tuesday, July 7

• 5:40 AM  Appearing from the northwest
• 5:43 AM  Look toward the northeast
• 5:46 AM  Disappearing into the southeast

Wednesday, July 8

• 8:52 PM  Appearing from the southwest
• 8:55 PM  Look toward the southeast
• 8:57 PM  Disappearing into the northeast

Thursday, July 9

• 4:54 AM  Appearing from the northwest
• 4:57 AM  Look toward the northeast
• 5:00 AM  Disappearing into the southeast

The International Space Station is about 350 feet long and 45 feet tall.  The solar arrays, which are 240 feet wide, reflect light from the sun as it moves across the evening or pre-dawn sky. It moves too fast to watch it through a telescope. But you should have no problem seeing it.... provided the weather cooperates.

Venus now a "morning star."

Early birds will see the planet Venus shining brightly in the eastern sky about an hour before sunrise early Friday morning. And if you look carefully, you might even see Mars and Mercury.

This skymap from StarDate shows Venus and Mars aligned with a sliver of the waning moon early June 19.  To the lower left, you might see Mercury if you look through binoculars.

Sunrise is around 6:20 AM. So the best view will be from 5:15-5:45 AM. After that the sky will start to brighten making it impossible to see the faint planets.

Space Station sightings this weekend

The clear sky will give us a perfect view of the International Space Station as it passes over Houston the next few evenings. Here's when and where you need to look:

Friday, May 29

• 9:11 PM  North/Northwest horizon
• 9:14 PM  Passing by to our Northeast
• 9:16 PM  Eastern horizon

Saturday, May 30

• 9:37 PM  West/Northwest horizon
• 9:39 PM  Passing by to our Southwest
• 9:41 PM  Southern horizon

Sunday, May 31

• 8:27 PM  North/Northwest horizon
• 8:30 PM  Passing by to our Northeast
• 8:32 PM  East/Southeast horizon

Monday, June 1

• 8:52 PM  West/Northwest horizon
• 8:55 PM  Passing by to our southwest
• 8:58 PM  South/Southeast horizon

The times indicate when the ISS will first appear in our sky as a very bright spot. The orbit path will take it across the sky as indicated. The time final time listed indicates when the ISS will fade from our view.

Sunset is at 8:17 PM so the sky will still be pretty bright on Sunday and Monday. Your best view will tonight and Saturday. 

Send me a tweet if you see it!

International Space Station visible from Houston this weekend

Did you feel like you were being watched today? You were. 

The crew aboard the International Space Station passed right over Houston this afternoon. Here's a  short video showing what the astronauts saw as they looked down from 220 miles above the Earth.

Coming up this weekend, we'll be able to see the ISS from Houston. Here are the best times* to look up:

Saturday, May 9 -- You'll need to get up early to see this.

• 5:37 AM  North/Northwest
• 5:40 AM  Northeast
• 5:43 AM  East/Southeast

Sunday, May 10 -- Sunrise is at 6:35 AM so the ISS will be appear faint in the early dawn sky.

• 6:03 AM  West/Northwest
• 6:06 AM  Southwest
• 6:09 AM  South/Southeast

Sunday, May 10 -- The best view of the week, weather permitting.

• 8:51 PM  Southwest
• 8:54 PM  Southeast
• 8:57 PM  Northeast

*There are other sighting opportunities this week, but the view will be limited because the ISS will be passing low to the horizon.

 

    

Hubble Space Telescope visible from Houston

I often post viewing times here on the Houston weatherblog when the International Space Station or the Space Shuttle pass overhead.  Truth be told, there are lots of things zipping through the stars every night.  Remember the tool bag lost by the Shuttle astronauts several months back?  It's still floating around up there.

We have a couple of opportunities to see the Hubble Space Telescope on Friday and Saturday evening.  Here's when and where to look:

Friday Night:

• 8:10 PM  Southwest
• 8:13 PM  South/Southeast
• 8:18 PM  East

Saturday Night:

• 8:08 PM  Southwest
• 8:12 PM  South/Southeast
• 8:17 PM  East

Sunset is at 7:54 PM, so the Hubble won't appear very bright. And it's not very big, the size of a small tractor trailer truck.  This might be hard to see.

NASA is sending the Space Shuttle up next month to perform some repairs to the Hubble. Eyewitness News reporter Ted Oberg says the astronauts will be replacing many of the worn-out components. You can watch his report here.

The Hubble orbits the Earth every 96 minutes. Look up Friday and Saturday night and you just might see it whiz by.

Look up to see the ISS tonight!

An ABC13 viewer captured the path of the International Space Station as it passed over Texas Thursday evening. Thanks to Tai Barnes for sharing the view from Spring Branch.

If you missed it, you have a couple of more chances to see the ISS the next two nights. Here's when and where you need to look:

Friday, April 3*

• 7:59 PM Appearing north
• 8:01 PM Look northeast
• 8:04 PM Disappearing east

Saturday, April 4

• 8:25 PM Appearing northwest
• 8:28 PM Look southwest
• 8:31 PM Disappearing south

*There is a second possible sighting on Friday, but it will be very low in the southwest corner of the sky at 9:36 PM.

McDonald Observatory celebrates Year of Astronomy

The University of Texas at Austin is having an open house at their McDonald Observatory on the west Texas campus near Fort Davis. The event is part of the International Year of Astronomy.

The event begins at 2 PM on Saturday, April 4 and continues well past sunset so you can get a close-up view of the Moon and Saturn through some of the Observatory's larger telescopes. Earlier in the day, a special telescope will provide a safe view of the sun.

There will be plenty of activities for the whole family. And admission is free!

Photo courtesy Marty Harris/McDonald Observatory.

Ring around the moon

I was at a party a few weeks ago when I noticed a small group of people gathered outside staring and pointing up at the sky. Curious, I went out to see what was so interesting.  Overhead the full moon was surrounded by a bright halo. Ice crystals, I explained, were refracting or bending the light from the moon. The sky appeared to be clear, but a halo is an indication of upper atmospheric ice crystals which often precede a change in the weather. Indeed, it rained two days later.

There's an old weather folklore saying that goes like this:

"Ring around the moon, Rain coming soon."

It’s not unusual to see a halo around the moon, or occasionally around the sun.  But this group of adults all claimed to have never seen such a thing.

Back in January, I got emails from folks who wondered why the crescent moon was positioned so it looked like it was smiling.  Super bright Venus has been getting a lot of attention since last fall when it started to appear in the night sky. It’s amazing what you can see if you just look up. 

I think of the sky as being the “greatest show OFF Earth!”

Look up to see the ISS again tonight

It isn't listed on NASA's schedule, but one of my favorite websites says the International Space Station will be passing over Houston again tonight. Heavens Above tracks everything in the night sky from the ISS, to satellite paths, planets and stars. According to their website here's when and where to look up Friday night:

• 6:15 PM Look toward the northwest
• 6:18 PM Look up, almost directly overhead
• 6:21 PM The ISS will fade away in the southeast sky

The view tonight will not be as spectacular as Wednesday night's show because the sunsets at 6:00 PM and the sky will still be pretty bright. That might be why NASA doesn't list the flight.

Many of you sent me emails after Wednesday's pass over Houston wondering why we could suddenly see the ISS now. Truth is, the ISS passes over or near Houston all the time. Wednesday night was unique because it came during the hours we were all awake, the sky was perfectly clear and it went right overhead.

ISS clearly visible over Houston tonight!

NASA emailed me this photo of Houston taken by the Expedition 18 Crew aboard the International Space Station. This is what we look like from space!

Not only can the ISS see us, but we can see the ISS.  Look up tonight!

Look to the northwest about 6:55 PM and you'll see the ISS. It will take about five minutes to cross the sky, passing directly overhead. About 7:00 PM it will fade away in the southeast corner of the sky.

There are a few other opportunites to see the ISS this week, but it will be lower in the sky and harder to see.

Grab your binoculars and you might see some of the solar panels attached to the International Space Station.

And wave!  The astronauts could be looking back at you.

Click here to see other amazing photographs taken by astronaunts over the years.