NASA’s Spot the Station Service

Worth Taking a Look
Credit NASA

NASA is often accused of doing a less than stellar job of informing the public of what it is actually doing.  If seeing really is believing, then a recently released spotting program is a step in the right direction.   With the advent of cold clear nights which make fall and winter the best seasons for nighttime sky watching, NASA has released a convenient service which alerts you when the International Space Station is passing overhead.  The Spot the Station service uses either e-mail or text messages to notify participants of when the station will be passing above 40 degrees over the horizon of over 4,600 locations worldwide during the evening or early morning hours.

With a crew capacity of six full-time residents, a U.S. National Laboratory, and a steady traffic of no less than five different visiting spacecraft,  (with OSC Cygnus, soon to be six) the International Space Station is a remarkable achievement in space which is well worth putting on a jacket and stepping outside on the occasional  clear evening to consider, if only for a moment.