Tag Archives: ISS

Space “bullet” punctures ISS solar array

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Either a space rock or man-made debris punctured a small hole in the International Space Station’s solar array as photographed yesterday by astronaut Chris Hadfield. Credit: NASA

“Bullet hole – a small stone from the universe went through our solar array,” tweeted space station Commander Chris Hadfield yesterday. ”Glad it missed the hull.”

Chris Hadfield, a Canadian astronaut and current commander of the International Space Station (ISS), stays in touch with earthlings through his Twitter feed. He posts impressions and observations of Earth from space as well as frequent photos. Click image to follow his feed.

Hadfield photographed the small puncture in the array caused by either a tiny meteoroid or a piece of man-made space junk. There’s plenty of both to go around. Earth gets peppered by over 40 tons of asteroid dust and grit every day.

Man-made orbital debris from decades of rocket launches plus a considerable amount of additional space trash from two anti-satellite tests (in 1985 by the U.S. and 2007 by China)  and a 2009 collision of an Iridium communications satellite and Russian military satellite orbit Earth across a wide spread of altitudes.

Illustration showing the growth in the number of satellites in Earth orbit from the dawn of the space age to 2009. More than 95% of the material now being tracked is debris, ie. non-functioning satellites, rocket stages, etc. Click to read the full report. Credit: NASA

Some 20,000 pieces of debris larger than 2 inches (5 cm) are tracked by NORAD radar and at least 500,000 pieces 1/2-inch (1 cm) and larger occupy low Earth orbit between 99 and 1,200 miles high. It’s here where the space station circles the planet at over 17,000 mph 250 miles overhead.

For perspective, a marble-sized object moving with a relative speed of 10,500 mph (17,000 km) to a satellite or ISS would deliver as much energy as a small hand grenade.

STS-35 Space Shuttle window pit from orbital debris impact. Credit: NASA

The space station proper is protected by its hull from small hits by millimeter-sized objects. Presumably this “bullet” was small enough to not pose a danger. Had it struck Earth’s atmosphere, the bit of debris would have burned completely as a meteor. In orbit, the “skin” that protects astronauts is thin in comparison.

You can read more about orbital debris and how NASA deals with it HERE and HERE.

Progress precedes space station before fiery finale

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An unpiloted ISS Progress resupply vehicle (top) approaches the International Space Station, carrying 2,050 pounds of space station propellant, 62 pounds of oxygen, 42 pounds of air, 926 pounds of water and 2,738 pounds of spare parts, crew supplies and equipment for the astronauts. Docking occurred back on Oct. 31, 2012. Credit: NASA

Feeling like your life needs some Progress? Here’s your chance to see some. The Russian cargo ship Progress 49 undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) Monday after delivering food, water, oxygen and scientific equipment some five months ago. It will return to Earth this Sunday stuffed to the gills with trash, all of it burning to toast when the craft re-enters Earth’s atmosphere and burns up over the Pacific Ocean.

Unlike the ISS, the Progress cargo ships are on the fainter side, only getting as bright as the Big Dipper stars at best. Typically, they’re around magnitude 3 to 5 and appear like a dim star crossing the sky. For the adventurous, click HERE and you’ll be taken to a special page to track the pair on the Visual SAT-Flare Tracker site. When you get there, use the Google map to pinpoint your location and then double-click it. Now scroll down to the bottom of the page and you’ll see viewing times and other information for the ISS and Progress M17-M (same as Progress 49). Clicking on the satellite name will take you straight to a map showing its track across the sky. Good luck!

Progress 49 docked to the ISS. Credit: NASA

I hope you’ll get a nice pass of Progress before it goes ka-boom! At the moment it precedes the ISS by about 10 minutes. Progress 51 is next in line to fly needed supplies to the station. It will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Russia on April 24.

Even if you’re not game for the fainter cargo ship, be sure to check out the space station. It’s too bright to ignore.  I’ve listed viewing times for the Duluth, Minn. region below. You can find times for your town at Heavens Above and Spaceweather’s Satellite Flyby site. 

* Tonight Apr. 16 starting at 9:46 p.m. across the northern sky. Peak brightness -2.2 magnitude (Venus = -4.4, Jupiter = -2.5 for reference)
* Weds. Apr. 17 at  8:55 p.m. across the north. Peak -2.0
*Thurs. Apr. 18 at 9:41 p.m. high in the northern sky. Fades away into Earth’s shadow to the left or north of the bright orange star Arcturus about 9:45 p.m. Peak -3.0
Fri. Apr. 19 at 8:51 p.m. high in the northern sky. Peak -2.5
Sat. Apr. 20 at 9:36 p.m. high in the south. Disappears into Earth’s shadow at 9:41 p.m. above the bright star Spica in Virgo.  Peak -3.4
* Sun. Apr. 21 at 8:46 p.m. high across the southern sky.  Slices across the Bowl of the Big Dipper about 8:49 p.m. Peak -3.2

6 guys in a flying tin can now appearing in a sky near you

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Photo from the space station showing the blast off of the Soyuz TMA-08M rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 29, 2013 carrying Expedition 35 Soyuz Commander Pavel Vinogradov, NASA Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy and Russian Flight Engineer Alexander Misurkin to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

The International Space Station (ISS) is back. You can now view it during convenient evening hours for the next few weeks from the U.S. and other locations. Watch for the station to first appear in the western sky looking like a brilliant star with a yellow hue.

Traveling toward the east at 4.8 miles per second (7.7 km/sec) it takes between 3-7 minutes to complete its circuit depending on its height above the horizon during a particular pass. Overhead passes last longest.

Since it takes only about 90 minutes for the craft to orbit Earth, if you see it on a first pass in early twilight, you’ll often get to a second pass around nightfall. During the summer months, a combination of high sun angle and brief nights allow skywatchers to spot the station on every pass or some 5 times in one evening!

This picture was taken at nearly the same time as the one above but from the ground and shows the Soyuz TMA-08M rocket launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi

The 6-man crew of the station has been busy this week with a variety of projects including determining astronaut energy requirements for long-duration stays in space and the BASS experiment. BASS - Burning And Suppression of Solids - studies how materials burn and extinguish in the microgravity of space. What the crew learns will lead to better spacecraft materials as well as new ways of putting out accidental fires in space and on Earth.

Portrait of the Expedition 35 crew currently on board the station. In the front row are Commander Chris Hadfield (right) and Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov. Back row, from left, are Flight Engineers Alexander Misurkin, Chris Cassidy, Roman Romanenko and Tom Marshburn. Credit: NASA

ISS viewing times below are for the Duluth, Minn. region, but you can always get times for your city by logging into Heavens Above and selecting your city or plunking your zip code into Spaceweather’s Satellite Flybys site. Or you can make your life easy by signing up to NASA’s Spot the Station. You’ll get an e-mail or text message in advance of easily visible flybys over your town.

For Duluth, Minn. and region:

* Tonight April 7 starting at 9:16 p.m. across the southern sky. Visible for 3 minutes. Enters Earth’s shadow at 9:19 p.m. and quickly disappears from view.

* Mon. April 8 at 8:27 p.m. in twilight. Low pass across the south and southeastern sky. Visible for 5 minutes. Second pass at 10:02 p.m. Visible for 2 1/2 minutes. Comes up in the western sky and enters Earth’s shadow at 10:05 p.m.

* Tues. April 9 at 9:12 p.m. Spectacular pass across the top of the sky. Very bright! Visible for 5 minutes.


From Night to Day to Night Again – a two-and-a-half minute video taken from the ISS of the Earth from orbit

* Weds. April 10 at 8:21 p.m. in twilight. Another brilliant pass high in the southern sky. Flys very close to Sirius, the brightest star, about 8:23 p.m. Visible for 6 minutes. Second pass across the northern sky at 9:58 p.m. Visible for 4 minutes before disappearing in Earth’s shadow.

* Thurs. April 11 at 9:08 p.m. High, bright pass in the northern sky. Visible for 6 minutes.

* Fri. April 12 at 8:17 p.m. Brilliant pass across the top of the sky. Visible for nearly 7 minutes. Second nice pass at 9:54 p.m. across the north.

* Sat. April 13 at 9:03 p.m. across the northern sky. Visible for 6 minutes.

A sharp-edged sickle moon wil be visible low in the eastern sky tomorrow morning April 8. Created with Stellarium

If you’re up early for work tomorrow and have a good view of the eastern horizon, start the day with a smile by watching for the very delicate crescent moon just 2 days from new.

Wake up to spring tomorrow and see the space station

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Harry Nynas of Duluth heaved shovels fresh snow on top of the high banks that have accumulated over the season along his sidewalk yesterday. Photo: Bob King

After shoveling another 8 inches of snow after a winter of white, the banks along my walkway are now nearly at eye level. If there’s a lawn under there, I’m gonna need a team of archaeologists to find it. No matter, that won’t stop spring.

Tomorrow morning at 6:02 a.m. (Central time) the sun quietly slips over the line into the northern half of the sky. We call this the vernal equinox or start of spring. For me it will be a matter of faith in the cyclical movement of the sun. For you, the zephyrs of the new season may already be blowing through your hair.

The tip of Earth on its axis causes the seasons. On the first day of spring or vernal equinox, we face the sun from the side and days and nights are approximately of equal length in both northern and southern hemispheres. Credit: Tao-olunga

On the first day of spring, Earth’s axis is oriented neither toward nor away from the sun. If the southern hemisphere represents the planet’s feet and northern hemisphere its head, tomorrow we’ll be showing the sun our belly or profile if you like. In winter, the northern hemisphere is tipped away from the sun with short days and a low, chilly sun. In summer, we’re tipped toward the sun with long days, a high sun and more heat than most of us need. But during the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, neither hemisphere has the solar advantage (or disadvantage) and equality rules. Days are 12 hours long, nights are 12 hours long.

The rising sun tomorrow will bring with it the start of the spring season in the northern hemisphere. Credit: Rick Klawitter

The sun also also rises due east and sets due west. If you’ve ever been puzzled by which direction is which in your neighborhood, face the sunset sun around the time of the equinoxes and stick out both your arms at your sides. Your right arm points due north, the left due south. Pretty handy, eh?

On the first day of spring the sun crosses the celestial equator, an imaginary extension of Earth’s equator onto the sky, moving north. As the sun moves north, it climbs higher and higher in the sky – with increasing daylight hours – until it’s highest on the first day of summer. Illustration: Bob King

Spring and fall are the in-between times when temperatures moderate and the sun rests for a brief moment between extremes. For folks living on the equator, tomorrow the sun will rise in the east and pass directly overhead at noon before declining in the west. Equatorial skywatchers will stand in their own shadows at local noon.

Take an imaginary flight to Earth’s south pole and tomorrow means something quite different. There the sun will hover along the horizon 24 hours straight, neither rising nor setting. Starting March 21, it won’t breach the horizon for another 6 months. What marks the start of spring for northerners means the beginning of fall for Australians and a temporary end of sunshine for itinerant Antarcticans.

As you’d expect, the situation is just the opposite at the north pole, where 6 months of daylight begins with tomorrow’s sunrise.

The sun sets due west tomorrow on the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. Photo: Bob King

Our planet’s tilted axis combined with its yearly orbit makes such strange things happen here on the ground. Just think how monotonous the weather and daylight-length would be if our axis were straight up and down with no tilt. Our skewed planet is like an artist looking at the world from varied and surprising perspectives.

Spring also coincides with a series of fine morning passes of the International Space Station (ISS) for at least the U.S. and Canada. Less than an hour before spring’s start, the station will pass over northern Minnesota tomorrow morning. To find times when it’s visible from your location, log on to Heavens Above (which also provides excellent maps of its path in the sky) or key in your zip code at Spaceweather Satellite Flybys page. The ISS first appears in the western sky and moves eastward, appearing like a very bright, moving star.

Space Station times for Duluth, Minn. region:

* Tues. March 20 starting at 5:14 a.m. “Magically” appears out of Earth’s shadow high in the southern sky and moves east. Brilliant pass!
* Weds. March 21 at 5:58 p.m. across the northern sky
* Thurs. March 22 at 5:09 a.m. Exits Earth’s shadow at 5:09 a.m. above the North Star and moves eastward
* Fri. March 23 at 5:52 a.m. across the northern sky
* Sat. March 24 at 5:03 a.m. Exits Earth’s shadow just below the North Star and moves east
* Sun. March 25 at 5:46 a.m. across the northern sky

Tour the space station with Suni

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We’ve all seen photos and clips of the International Space Station (ISS), but you’ll really get to experience what living there is like when you take the video tour with astronaut Suni Williams. Williams, commander of the Expedition 33 crew that returned to Earth last November after a 4-month stint in space, worked with fellow astronaut Kevin Ford, to create the video days before her departure.

Although 25 minutes long, I got hooked after the first minute and couldn’t stop watching. She gives a great tour and explains everything in easy-to-understand language. You’ll learn about the food, exercise equipement, sleeping quarters and bathroom as you “swim” along with Suni from one node to the next inside the ISS.

This amazing image of astronauts inside the space station’s cupola (right) was captured by one of the Expedition 28 crew members. Brisbane, Australia is the bright patch of lights. You can also see green airglow and stars. Click for large version. Credit: NASA

Wait till you see Earth in the cupola’s windows. Or the exercise bike where you don’t need a seat. No seat? In zero-G, as long as your feet are locked in the toeclips, you can ride a seatless bike without falling on your butt. If you don’t care to watch the video straight through, you can view it in four separate episodes that include additional footage HERE.

Detail of a little painting or sticker on the wall in one of the bathrooms in the International Space Station. Grabbed from the video. Credit: NASA

There are still a few ISS passes in the coming days for U.S. observers. They all happen in morning twilight. If you’d like to find pass times for your town, click HERE and type in your zip code or simply have NASA drop you an e-mail with time and directions. Sign up for the free service at Spot the Station.

The times below are when the ISS will be visible across the Duluth, Minn. region. In a couple weeks, the station will return to the evening sky.

* Monday Jan.28 starting at 7:08 a.m. appearing low in the east-southeast
* Tuesday Jan. 29 at 6:18 a.m. Low pass across the south
* Wednesday Jan. 30 at 5:30 a.m. Brief appearance low in the south-southeast

Thin crescent moons and space station swings, these are a few of my favorite things

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The crescent moon greets sky watchers tonight in the western sky during twilight. Binoculars will show Mars very low above the horizon about an hour after sunset. Created with Stellarium

Two of our favorite sky objects are back. A fingernail crescent moon will scratch the sky at dusk and the space station begins another series of swing-bys  at  dawn.

Watch for the moon in the southwest during evening twilight. If you’re game for a challenge, use binoculars to find dim Mars about 7 degrees directly below the moon. Think of Curiosity up there poking around the rocks of Gale Crater in Yellowknife Bay. Can you believe it’s been there for 161 days already?

This image from the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) shows the patch of rock cleaned by the first use of the rover’s Dust Removal Tool (DRT) on Jan. 6, 2013. Click to enlarge. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Last week the rover used its motorized, wire-bristle brush for the first time to dust off a rock in preparation for close-up inspection by the hand-lens imager and Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS). The APXS analyzes the elements that compose the rock by bombarding it with alpha particles (helium atoms) and X-rays and measuring what scatters back. Each element gives off its own distinctive energy fingerprint.

Expedition 34 crew members photographed an extensive blanket of stratocumulus clouds as they flew over the northwestern Pacific Ocean on Jan. 4, 2013. The cloud pattern is typical for this part of the world. The low clouds carry cold air over a warmer sea. Click to enlarge. Credit: NASA

Morning sky watchers again have the pleasure of tracking the International Space Station (ISS), now beginning a fresh series of passes before sunrise. Winter mornings make watching the space station easy compared to summer. With the sun rising so late, you can look for the station when you step out to pick up the paper or walk the dog. No getting up at 4 or 5 a.m. like you did during the summer months with its early sunrises and even earlier twilights.

The times below are for the Duluth, Minn. region. Check out times for your town at Spaceweather’s Satellite Flybys page or log in to Heavens-Above, where you can print out cool maps of the space station’s path in the sky. Look for the ISS to first appear in the west and travel east; a typical pass takes about 5 minutes.  It looks like a brilliant, steady yellow star on the move.

* Tomorrow Jan. 14 beginning at 6:55 a.m. High pass across the northern sky. Brilliant at magnitude -3.2
* Tues. Jan. 15 at 6:07 a.m. when it suddenly leaves Earth’s shadow in the western sky in Leo and travels across the top of the sky headed east. Brightest pass of the week at mag. -3.4
* Weds. Jan. 16 at 6:51 a.m. Nice pass across the northern sky
* Thurs. Jan. 17 at 6:03 a.m. Appears  suddenly out of Earth’s shadow halfway up in the northwestern sky moving east.
* Fri. Jan. 18 at 6:48 a.m. Full pass across the northern sky
* Sat. Jan. 19 at 6 a.m. First appears out of Earth’s shadow near the North Star moving east.

Closeup of the large sunspot region 1654 taken at 9 a.m. CST this morning Jan. 13, 2013 by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. Solar storms or flares occur when powerful magnetic energy stored in the spots is explosively released.  Click to enlarge. Credit: NASA

The sun’s been looking pretty hot this past week. Lots of flares, including a few rated as moderately powerful M-class storms, have been popping off in the large sunspot group 1654. I see today that the Kp index, an indicator of magnetic activity around the Earth, is starting to climb again – just a little. The space weather forecast doesn’t predict any auroras minor or major in the next three days, but that could change if 1654 continues firing off flares as it rotates to face the Earth more directly.

Space station crew prepares for Christmas feast in space

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Commander Kevin Ford sends holiday greetings from the International Space Station (ISS) this week. A small, decorated tree is at upper right. Credit: NASA TV

As you prepare for Christmas company and dinner, consider the six astronauts spending the holiday 250 miles overhead. Thanks to Internet connectivity the crew will be able to visit with their families and even order last minute gifts if necessary.

A small, decorated tree is already up and the holiday menu is being planned. Forget Tang and astronaut ice cream, these guys will be eating well. Planning nutritious and tasty food keeps astronauts happy and healthy and is an important part of the space program for both NASA and Roscosmos, the Russian space agency.

Bags of International Space Station food and utensils on tray (2003). Velcro holds the items in place. Credit: NASA

While I can’t find a complete published menu for Christmas Day, the main course will likely be turkey and gravy with a dessert of peach ambrosia. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who arrived at the station last Friday, made sure he packed away some special foods he’ll be sharing with his crew mates in the coming months. These include candied wild smoked salmon, smoked salmon pate, cranberry buffalo sticks, cereal, dried apple chunks, fruit bars, green tea cookies with orange zest, maple syrup cookies, organic chocolate, honey drops, chocolate bars and maple syrup, according to a recent article in Universe Today.

Candied Wild Smoked Salmon brought to the ISS by astronaut Chris Hadfield.

Most foods are dehydrated and packed in plastic, so astronauts have to add hot or cold water from a rehydration station as a first step in food preparation.

Meats are exposed to radiation before they’re packed for the trip to space to increase their shelf life. Because astronauts’ taste buds often go flat on long space missions, spicy foods are appreciated.

On his first flight to the Mir space station in 1995, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield brought a foldable SoloEtte guitar. He has a different guitar this time around and plans to strum a few Christmas carols. Credit: NASA

Hot meals take 20-30 minutes to cook in a forced-air convection oven. To keep the bags from floating away, they’re attached by fasteners to food trays, which can be then be attached to astronauts’ laps or a wall. Astronauts open the packages with scissors and chow down using traditional utensils.You can learn more about holiday eating in space HERE.

You might want to add a space station sighting to your holiday festivities. The bright bird will continue making evening passes for about the next week. Times below are for the Duluth, Minn. region. To spot it over your house, log on to Heavens Above or Spaceweather’s Satellite Flybys page. You can also get free alerts sent to your e-mail by signing up at NASA’s Spot the Station website.

Today Dec. 24 starting at 6:02 p.m. the ISS travels west to east across the northern sky
Tues. Dec. 25 at 5:12 p.m. ”     ”
Weds. Dec. 26 at 5:58 p.m. straight across the top of the sky.
Thurs. Dec. 27 at 5:08 p.m. high across the northern sky. Passes almost directly in
front of Jupiter about 5:13 p.m.
Fri. Dec. 28 at 5:54 p.m. high across the southern sky.
Sat. Dec. 29 at 5:04 p.m. straight across the top of the sky.

Why astronomy provides essential vitamin Q

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A -8 magnitude Leonid fireball captured by one of John Chumack’s video cameras at his home in Dayton, Ohio. Click to see a video of all his captures. Credit: John Chumack

By all accounts it was a slow year for the Leonid meteor shower. I almost feel like apologizing for promoting it, but as often happens in astronomy, you don’t know until you go out and see for yourself. Had the shower been unexpectedly spectacular and you passed on it, you’d feel disappointed, right?

This sleep thing is overrated. If only we could stay up and stare at the sky with unblinking eyes like John Chumack’s low-light video setup. He ran his cameras from the evening of Nov. 16th through the 19th and recorded 84 meteors. Most people who’ve e-mailed me saw one or two at most.

I spent some time this morning waiting for some action from that strand of comet debris forecast to give us a second Leonid maximum, but none showed during my brief vigil. Don’t lose hope. More meteors are on the way. The next shower, the Geminids, have been very productive in recent years, even besting the summer Perseids. Stay tuned for that maximum forecast for Dec. 13-14.

Yesterday I had my oil changed and tires rotated over at Larry’s place. We talked for a while about deer hunting. He’s the animal hunter, I’m the star hunter. Larry didn’t get a deer this year but found equal or greater pleasure in the solitude of the forest as he waited in his stand. He noticed little things like how much sound a bird makes foraging for food or fluttering from tree to tree.

“You wouldn’t normally go into the woods to listen to the quiet or pay attention to a bird flying,” he said, but hunting gave him the occasion or at least the excuse to do so. That’s how it is with observing the night sky, I told him. Many of us have so many other commitments that we unknowingly push aside things we don’t even know we need. Quiet is one of them.

The Milky Way (left) with Orion and Jupiter (top) on Sunday night from north of Duluth. Details: 15mm f/2.8, 25-seconds, ISO 2500. Photo: Bob King

I’m a pretty purposeful amateur astronomer and get a lot of pleasure digging in the dark with my scope, but this past Sunday night, under the clearest sky in weeks, I walked away from the telescope, sat down and looked up. A light breeze sifted through the fir trees, water gurgled from a distant river, but mostly there was silence. I’d forgotten how much I needed the quiet. It’s such a rare commodity. Tasting it felt like that first gulp of cold water down the throat when you’re dying of thirst.

There are sights too – the eternal stars, the vastness of space hinted at by the band of the Milky Way, the brilliance of Jupiter. All of them provide sustenance, a vitamin “Q” (for quietude) to strengthen both resolve and inner peace. We may go out to hunt with prey on our minds, but return home sustained by the intangibles.

You’ll need some of that resolve if you’re planning on getting up in the wee hours to watch the International Space Station. It continues making great passes this coming week. The times listed below are for the Duluth, Minn. region. Click over to Heavens-Above, Spaceweather’s Satellite Flybys or sign up for free e-mail or phone alerts at NASA’s Spot the Station site to get pass times for your town.

* Weds. morning Nov. 21 beginning at 6:22 a.m. across the northern sky
* Thurs. Nov. 22 at 5:34 a.m First appears out of Earth’s shadow below the North Star and moves east.
* Fri. Nov. 23 at 6:19 a.m. across the north
* Sat. Nov. 24 at 5:31 a.m. Like Thurs., the ISS suddenly appears below Polaris and continues east.
* Sun. Nov. 25 at 6:16 a.m. Crosses nearly overhead reaching magnitude -3.1. Brilliant!

NASA offers new user-friendly space station alerts

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Example of a NASA space station alert. The diagram below explains the information provided. Credit: NASA

I’ve always joked with my community ed astronomy class students that one day I’d be replaced by a mobile phone app. The writing’s on the wall.

NASA recently introduced a new free service called Spot the Station that will alert you by e-mail or text message several hours before the International Space Station (ISS) is predicted to make a pass over your town.

With the information from the alert you can picture how and where the space station will appear in the sky. This diagram is based on the example alert. Credit: NASA

Just go to the website and sign up. Mission Control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, makes predictions for 4,600 locations worldwide. Don’t worry if your specific location isn’t on the list. Since the space station is visible from a large area, pick the closest town and your time will easily be within a few minutes of the correct one.

One other small caveat. NASA will only alert the “good” passes when the station reaches an altitude of 40 degrees or more. No problem there. Those are the ones most of us want to see anyway.

The ISS, big as a pro football field, is an orbiting laboratory currently occupied by six astronauts. Three of the crew is set to undock and return to Earth in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on Nov. 18, 2012. Credit: NASA

In the diagram above, based on the alert, the station first becomes easily visible 10 degrees above the west-southwest horizon at 7:45 p.m. 10 degrees is equal to one fist held vertically with the bottom touching the horizon. Maximum altitude of 66 degrees is reached a couple minutes later. Since the horizon is 0 degrees and the top of the sky is 90 degrees, 66 degrees is two-thirds of the way up from the horizon or about 6.5 fists high. Finally, the ISS remains in view for 4 minutes before disappearing in the northeastern sky.

It’s pretty slick. I even signed up to check it out. For old time’s sake, I’ll still update the blog with pass times for the Duluth, Minn. region along with interesting particulars like when the ISS disappears into Earth’s shadow or glides by a bright planet or star. Don’t forget, you can also get pass times at Spaceweather’s Satellite Flybys site by keying in your zip code and great maps and times at Heavens Above.

For the Duluth, Minn. region the International Space Station (ISS) will pass directly in front of Venus tomorrow morning Nov. 12 at about 5:49 a.m. Credit: Heavens Above

A new round of passes begins tomorrow morning for North America. When you go out to watch, look for a brilliant, pale yellow star moving about as fast as a high-flying plane from west to east. The station typically takes about 5 minutes to travel from one end of the sky to the other.

TIMES FOR THE DULUTH REGION:

* Mon. Nov. 12 beginning at 5:46 a.m. low in south-southeast. Passes right over Venus about 5:49 a.m. Be sure to watch for the thin crescent moon and Saturn low in the southeast below Venus around 6 a.m. local time. More info HERE.
* Tues. Nov. 13 at 6:32 a.m. High, brilliant pass in the south during morning twilight
* Weds. Nov. 14 at 5:43 a.m. across the south-southeast
* Thurs. Nov. 15 at 4:55 a.m. in the southeastern sky above Venus. Second pass high in the northern sky at 6:29 a.m.
* Fri. Nov. 16 at 5:41 a.m. Brilliant pass across the top of the sky. Best of the week!
* Sat. Nov. 17 at 4:54 a.m. Brief appearance in the eastern sky. Second flyby at 6:27 a.m. across the northern sky
* Sun. Nov. 18 at 5:40 a.m. across the northern sky

Monday’s aurora from orbit; space station welcomes a Dragon

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Satellite view of the aurora on October 8, 2012 stretching across Canada’s Quebec and Ontario Provinces. It was also visible from the northern U.S. that morning. Click for a large, hi-res version. Credit: NASA/NOAA/DoD

How about this cool satellite photo taken of Monday morning’s aurora? The Earth-observing research satellite called Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP)  snapped this view of the aurora borealis from 512 miles up early on the morning of October 8, 2012.

The northern auroral oval is centered on the north geomagnetic pole currently located in northern Canada. Credit: NASA

Stretching across Canada, the aurora there would have created a brilliant overhead display. Further south in the northern U.S., lucky sky watchers who got up early saw the same aurora as tall rays unfurling across the northern sky. The loopy curls you see in the photo are a small fraction of a much larger ring-shaped structure called the auroral oval.

Auroras form in two large rings centered on Earth’s geomagnetic poles which are not lined up with the geographic north and south poles. At present the north geomagnetic pole is located in far northern Canada. When we see auroras in the northern hemisphere, they’re also active to the same degree in the southern hemisphere. New Zealanders see their version of the northern lights called the aurora australis or southern lights.

Auroras don’t have to directly overhead to be visible. Since they form 60 to 250 miles up, the fact that they “stand so tall” lets us see them hundreds of miles to the south.

Earth’s magnetic field, generated by its outer iron core, creates invisible lines of magnetic force that concentrate at the poles. This “magnetic field” shields the planet from much of the sun’s particle blasts and makes our compass needles point north. A bar magnet (right) generates a similar field concentrated at its poles. Particles from the sun (or near Earth) follow the field lines into the upper atmosphere to create the auroral ovals. Credit: NASA

Geomagnetic storms, sparked by material blasted from the sun either from solar storms called flares or “quieter” coronal holes, pushes on our planet’s magnetic bubble or magnetosphere. sending cascades of particles along lines of magnetic force straight into the polar atmosphere. There they excite molecules of oxygen and nitrogen to glow green, pink, purple and red as aurora.

The Dragon ship, NASA’s first privately-contracted cargo delivery flight, docks this morning at the ISS. It carries 882 pounds of crew supplies, science research and hardware. Astronauts will reload it with 1,673 pounds of cargo for return to Earth. Credit: NASA-TV

This morning at 8:03 a.m. (CDT) Commander Suni Williams aboard the International Space Station (ISS) used robotic Canadarm 2 to grab and install the Dragon cargo ship to its docking port.

I had hoped we’d be able to watch the ship approach the station, but good evening passes for many U.S. observers don’t begin until this evening. Dragon will remain at the space station for 18 days. On October 28, astronauts will detach it and direct it earthward for a splashdown 6 hours later in the Pacific Ocean. Since viewing opportunities are good through the end of the month, some of us will be able to watch its departure.

Below are viewing times for the International Space Station for the Duluth, Minn. region. For times for other cities, please go to Spaceweather satellite flybys site or log in to Heavens Above. The ISS will look like the brightest “star” in the evening sky as it travels from west to east. And before I forget, that shiny object photographed by Curiosity on Mars earlier this week appears to be a piece of plastic that somehow got loose from the rover.

* Weds. evening Oct. 10 starting at 7:25 p.m. low across the south-southeast.
* Thurs. Oct. 11 at 8:11 p.m. A short pass in the southwest-south before disappearing in Earth’s shadow.
* Fri. Oct. 12 at 7:22 p.m. Nice pass across the southern sky.
* Sat. Oct. 13 at 8:09 p.m. Comes up from the southwest and rises all the way up to the zenith before fading away in Earth’s shadow.
* Sun. Oct. 14 at 8:20 p.m. Nice high and bright pass across the top of the sky.
* Mon. Oct. 15 at 8:08 p.m. across the north. Enters Earth’s shadow and fades away just east of the North Star.