Here’s a fun activity that costs nothing and won’t keep the kids up too much past their bedtimes. According to SkyWatch, NASA’s free applet that tracks the best viewing times for satellites, the International Space Station will be visible over Wichita this week at the following times:
October 25-30, 2010
Monday – 7:59 p.m. for approximately 2 minutes
Tuesday – 8:26 p.m. for less than 1 minute
Wednesday – 7:17 for 4 minutes
Thursday – 7:45 p.m. for 2 minutes
Friday – 8:12 p.m. for less than 1 minute
Saturday – 7:02 p.m. for about 3 minutes
According to NASA’s website, the best time to see the International Space Station is near dawn or dusk, so if the weather stays nice, the early evening times this week should work pretty well for catching a glimpse of it. What to look for? According to NASA, it will look like a small, steady, extremely fast-moving point of light, probably moving from the western horizon to the eastern horizon.
You can use the SkyWatch applet yourself, see photos of the space station and its crew, and read the latest mission info at NASA’s Human Space Flight website. Also, click the “Shuttle” tab to find out how preparations are going for the November 1st launch of the Discovery space shuttle.
