- #1
- 3,385
- 2,637
If you had nothing particularly pressing to do, and the International Space Station was passing over at the right time to be easily visible, would you bother watching it?
The International Space station (ISS) is easily visible, if the timing is right: it needs to be passing overhead within a couple hundred miles (a few hundred kilometers) or so from your location, and it must do so within an hour and a half or so after dusk or before dawn. And of course the clouds must be cooperatively absent. (Your location must also be within around +/-52o latitude, which accounts for most of the world's population.) Most locations can catch a good sighting at least once or twice every two or three weeks. The timing must be right; it passes from one side of the sky to the other in just around 3 or 4 minutes.
It's visible because even though the surface of the Earth is dark, the ISS is still in the sunlight. It's bright enough that when it is up there at the right time, it's the brightest thing in the night sky less the moon and maybe Venus (and not counting brief Iridium flares). If you're wondering if it's bright enough to see with the naked eye, the answer is a definite yes. Even in the most light polluted, dense, urban metropolis, the ISS is easily visible with the naked eye, if you catch it at the right time. All you have to do is look up.
So if the opportunity arises, would you look at it?
I try to stay abreast of potential sightings by using websites such as http://www.heavens-above.com (Select your location from the map, and don't forget to ensure the selected time zone is correct. Then click on "ISS.") There's also a number of smartphone apps that keep track.
If I know that a sighting is about to happen, I'll invite anybody that happens to be around to watch it. This includes not only friends, acquaintances and coworkers, but also complete strangers -- anybody who's around. I will politely inform people that the International Space Station is about to "fly" over, and that they can see if the choose to.
If they are not interested I don't press the matter. Most people are interested though. Sometimes I've gathered groups of over twenty people, and many of them thank me for it even weeks or months after the fact. The reactions are generally one of inspiration and awe. That said, a large portion of people I invite have absolutely no interest in such things. But what's most surprising to me is that a significant fraction of people actually become angry at the idea. It doesn't happen every time, but often enough the suggestion is greeted with scorn and malice.
So please post your thoughts on the subject. If you oppose looking at the ISS please share your views as to why. If you enjoy looking at the ISS I'd like to hear your stories.
However, please do not discuss the financial validity of the ISS, or the opportunity cost of the Human Spaceflight Program in general. (I think that's a fine subject for discussion, by the way. But I don't want it discussed in this thread for fear that it will get this thread locked.) Instead, I'd like to keep this thread on the subject of: Okay, the ISS is right up there, and you're not doing anything pressing. So are you going to look at it or not? Any similar experiences with strange reactions to ISS sightings?
(And by the way, there's other satellites that are easily visible too such as the Hubble Space Telescope [HST]. They're not as bright as the ISS, but still visible enough.)
The International Space station (ISS) is easily visible, if the timing is right: it needs to be passing overhead within a couple hundred miles (a few hundred kilometers) or so from your location, and it must do so within an hour and a half or so after dusk or before dawn. And of course the clouds must be cooperatively absent. (Your location must also be within around +/-52o latitude, which accounts for most of the world's population.) Most locations can catch a good sighting at least once or twice every two or three weeks. The timing must be right; it passes from one side of the sky to the other in just around 3 or 4 minutes.
It's visible because even though the surface of the Earth is dark, the ISS is still in the sunlight. It's bright enough that when it is up there at the right time, it's the brightest thing in the night sky less the moon and maybe Venus (and not counting brief Iridium flares). If you're wondering if it's bright enough to see with the naked eye, the answer is a definite yes. Even in the most light polluted, dense, urban metropolis, the ISS is easily visible with the naked eye, if you catch it at the right time. All you have to do is look up.
So if the opportunity arises, would you look at it?
I try to stay abreast of potential sightings by using websites such as http://www.heavens-above.com (Select your location from the map, and don't forget to ensure the selected time zone is correct. Then click on "ISS.") There's also a number of smartphone apps that keep track.
If I know that a sighting is about to happen, I'll invite anybody that happens to be around to watch it. This includes not only friends, acquaintances and coworkers, but also complete strangers -- anybody who's around. I will politely inform people that the International Space Station is about to "fly" over, and that they can see if the choose to.
If they are not interested I don't press the matter. Most people are interested though. Sometimes I've gathered groups of over twenty people, and many of them thank me for it even weeks or months after the fact. The reactions are generally one of inspiration and awe. That said, a large portion of people I invite have absolutely no interest in such things. But what's most surprising to me is that a significant fraction of people actually become angry at the idea. It doesn't happen every time, but often enough the suggestion is greeted with scorn and malice.
So please post your thoughts on the subject. If you oppose looking at the ISS please share your views as to why. If you enjoy looking at the ISS I'd like to hear your stories.
However, please do not discuss the financial validity of the ISS, or the opportunity cost of the Human Spaceflight Program in general. (I think that's a fine subject for discussion, by the way. But I don't want it discussed in this thread for fear that it will get this thread locked.) Instead, I'd like to keep this thread on the subject of: Okay, the ISS is right up there, and you're not doing anything pressing. So are you going to look at it or not? Any similar experiences with strange reactions to ISS sightings?
(And by the way, there's other satellites that are easily visible too such as the Hubble Space Telescope [HST]. They're not as bright as the ISS, but still visible enough.)
Last edited:
