The International Space Station (ISS) will fly over the Midwest several times this week and will awe early-morning and late-night stargazers alike. Seven astronauts are currently living on the ISS and are circling the Earth once every 90 minutes. And you can see their craft shining like an unblinking, slowly moving bright light across the night sky.
The ISS shines by reflecting the light of the sun, so you can best spot it just before sunrise and just after sunset (while you are in darkness, but they are high enough to still be in sunlight). Here are the ISS passes for the week – set your alarms!
Where and when to look from Cincinnati
July 12: 10:15-10:21 p.m. Face southeast and it will travel right to left.
July 13: 11:04-11:11 p.m. Face northwest and it will travel left to right.
July 14: 5:35-5:41 a.m. Face southwest and it will travel right to left.
July 14: 10:17-10:24 p.m. Best one! It will rise in the southwest, go straight overhead, and then set in the northeast.
July 15: 4:47-4:54 a.m. Rising in the northwest, it will go high overhead, and then set in the southeast.
July 15: 9:30-9:36 p.m. Face south and it will travel right to left.
Fun ISS facts
ISS is 239 feet wide, 356 feet long, 66 feet tall, and weighs over 900,000 pounds.
It's the largest spacecraft ever.
It circles about 250 miles above Earth.
You can track the path of ISS using apps like Sputnik and ISS spotter or websites like heavens-above.com.
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