macpuzlBy Chuck McPartlin
The International Space Station will be making visible passes through Santa Barbara’s evening skies in late July and early August, weather permitting. These are just the brightest evening appearances. Its orbit may change, so to get the latest and most complete predictions, visit Heavens Above.
On Wednesday, July 26, the ISS will pop up in the NW at 10:46 PM PDT, and climb from the horizon to the tip of the bowl of the Big Dipper, where it will vanish into our shadow at 10:47 PM.
On Thursday, the station will rise at 9:58 PM in the NNW near the nose of Ursa Major, cruise below Polaris, and fade away above Cassiopeia in the NE at 10:01 PM.
There will be two passes on Friday. The first will start at 9:10 PM in the NNW in the nose of the Great Bear, and vanish in the chest of Pegasus in the ENE at 9:14 PM, close to the dim star 51 Pegasi, where the first exoplanet orbiting a sunlike star was found in 1995. It is officially named Dimidium, has about half the mass of Jupiter, and is about 50 light years away. On its next orbit, the station will pop up in the WNW at 10:46 PM, climbing into Coma Berenices to vanish in our shadow a minute later.
On Saturday we’ll get the brightest pass, rising at 9:57 PM in the NW, and going from the hind legs of Ursa Major, very near Alkaid, the end of the bear’s tail, then fading out between Boötes and Hercules at 10 PM.
Sunday will have another bright pass, starting at 9:09 PM in the NW, from the forelegs of the Great Bear, above Polaris, close to Deneb, the tail of Cygnus, the Swan, and then fading into shadow below tiny Delphinus, the Dolphin in the ESE at 9:14 PM.
On Monday, the ISS will rise in the WNW at 9:57 PM, through Leo and by its tail, Denebola, then above Spica in Virgo, disappearing just as it enters Libra in the SW at 10 PM.
On Tuesday, August 1, the station will make a bright pass starting at 9:08 PM in the WNW, cruise along Leo’s back, below orange Arcturus, between Ophiuchus and Scorpius, and set in the spout of the Teapot asterism of Sagittarius in the SSE at 9:08 PM. Nearby is the direction of the center of our galaxy, with its 4.3 million solar mass black hole, Sagittarius A*.
The last pass of this sequence will be on Thursday, August 3, with the ISS making a low pass from W to SSW, from Leo, below Spica, and setting below the stinger of Scorpius, between 9:09 PM and 9:11 PM.
The International Space Station will return to our evening sky in the second week of September.
Hasta nebula – Chuck
