Here's when you can see the International Space Station in the sky this week
(Courtesy: Drew Anderson)
PHILADELPHIA - This week, you'll have an opportunity to see the Internation Space Station in the sky as it's set to pass over our area once again.
Some astronauts will be coming home from the International Space Station Monday, and NASA will have a live stream of their journey home.
You can watch the spacecraft undock and splashdown off the coast of Florida Monday night. Tuesday morning, if you're an early riser, you can even see the space station with your own eyes.
Around 5 a.m. the space station will fly over your home for about 3 minutes.
Get the exact time on the space station website (https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/home.cfm) and head out a few minutes early to start looking.
You'll see the space station first appear in the western sky. Then, it will have a smooth, steady motion as it moves higher up in the sky.
It'll start coming back down toward the horizon as it nears the eastern part of your sky.
You'll know you saw the space station because it often disappears before it reaches the horizon. It vanishes for a reason: we see the space station because it's reflecting sunlight. When it vanishes, it's actually running into the Earth's shadow. So, the space station goes dim and quickly disappears as it reaches that dark part of space.
If you head out, the space station will look as big and as bright as a planet. Or you can look for something that looks like an airplane. Though, it'll look a little bigger than an airplane as it moves through the night sky.
To see exactly what to look for, check out video Meteorologist Drew Anderson captured of a space station flyover in 2020.
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