NASA 'Spot The Station' Space Station Sighting Alerts FREE

[Archaic]

Great. I'm all signed up and ready to look up.

Yay! You'll love it Paul. You too, Dave.

The first time I "spotted" the Space Station it was a perfectly clear night out in the countryside. There was almost no ambient light from neighboring houses, and I had wide open pastures in front of me.
I was standing out in the dark with my dog watching the WSW horizon, not sure if the time was just approximate and mistaking a couple of planes that appeared a few minutes earlier, but right on the dot I suddenly saw a brilliant golden light appear over a forest of tall evergreen trees in the distance.

I was curious to see the Space Station, but I honestly didn't expect the experience to be as exciting as it was.

As the Station approached and its brilliant golden light got bigger and bigger, I was surprised that it seemed to be heading straight towards me! It soared right over my head in silent majesty, and I felt an unexpected rush of emotion.

I actually felt proud of Mankind - proud that we had built such a magnificent craft for peaceful purposes in the pursuit of knowledge; proud of all the courageous international astronauts working together on each mission; and incredibly proud of my Dad for having been part of its creation.

Since then I've told many friends about 'Spot the Station' and all of them said afterward, "Wow, I thought it would be kind of interesting, but I didn't expect it to be that cool."

I really hope you guys get to see it soon! Just make sure you know its trajectory, and try to choose a clear viewing area that lets you see a large swathe of sky. It's often visible for 4-6 minutes.

You can also move a good distance from your home coordinates and still see view the station, because it's so high and moving so fast. (Though for some reason it doesn't seem to be moving any faster than a small plane.)

I've been 35 miles away from my home, yet the Space Station still showed up from the same direction at the same time NASA had predicted...and it still went right over our heads!

Cheers,
Bunny

[Dave O]

Thanks for this. I've signed up as well.

[PaulB]

Great. I'm all signed up and ready to look up.

[Archaic]

Hi everyone.

NASA has a free service called 'SPOT THE STATION' that will notify you for free by email or sms (your choice) whenever there's good viewing potential from your position on our planet.

No, they are not tracking you- the coordinates and time of appearance, duration, etc, will be nearly the same for a large geographical area, because the Space Station is traveling at a very high altitude, 205 miles above the Earth (330KM.) It's moving at a rate of 17,001 mph! (27,600 km/hr) That's about 5 miles per second.

I've been enjoying this free service from NASA for about 2 years, and everyone I've shared it with has loved it. Tonight I renewed my registration for the year so thought I'd post the link here.

NASA Spot The Station Alerts: http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/

It's an amazing experience to watch the International Space Station soar silently over your head...when you see the huge arc it's following you realize it's in orbit. It's breath-taking! My Dad worked on the Space Station, so yes, I'm an enthusiast, but it's a wonderful experience for kids and adults alike. Bundle up the kids & let them watch from a hammock, they'll love it!

If you wish to register just enter your email address or sms info, follow the instructions & verify that you want to be contacted. (You can cancel whenever you wish.) When the shuttle will be in a good position for viewing you'll get an email that tells you something like "Today, 7:54 pm, appearing WSW at 60 degrees, visible 6 minutes, disappearing ENE". Short and sweet; no spam of any kind.

It will pass right over your head. Get out away from city lights if you can, but the Space Station is the 3rd brightest object in the sky so can be seen even from towns and cities.

Just remember, the Space Station has an enormous steady golden light like a very bright star, and is perfectly silent- NO noise like an airplane engine and NO red or green blinking lights. (This info will help you not accidentally track a buzzing airplane the first time the Space Station appears over the horizon.)

Have fun!
Archaic