Spotting the International Space Station (ISS) at Night

Recently my wife and I were out on our back porch enjoying a summer evening, when we saw a bright white light moving rather quickly across the sky. It was moving too fast to be a star and there was no sign of any blinking, like a plane’s strobe lights will do. It dawned on me that what we were seeing could be the International Space Station (ISS), reflecting the sun’s light from its lower space orbit. My wife was not so convinced. We watched the light cross the horizon in what was probably less than four minutes.

Ever the space enthusiast, I decided to check in on my hunch. Sure enough, I found a website that renders exact details of when and where in the sky you can see all kinds of Satellite Flybys for your location. All you do is enter your zip code. As I said before, these satellites travel the horizon quickly, so there’s not a lot of room for being late to the show. Here’s where you go to find the next satellite flyby where you live. http://spaceweather.com/flybys/index.php Feel free to pass this on. Or, keep it a secret and amaze your friends and family from time to time when you say, “Oh hey, look over there, it’s the International Space Station”.

For the record, my wife thought I was brilliant to have figured it out. And for the first time in my life, I was smart enough not to say, “I told you so.”