The International Space Station is one of the best things man has ever created, and the station revolves around the Earth several times every day. Having an average altitude of 248 miles above the Earth, the space lab is visible from the ground. It is perhaps the third brightest object you will spot in the sky from our planet. And for those who love sky-watching, NASA has made it easier to see the ISS.
A new interactive map has been launched by NASA, and it is very conveniently named as ‘Spot the Station’. Using the map is fairly easy. You just need to enter your location, and you will get the best places to watch the Internation Space Station within a 50-mile radius around you as the ISS passes over your location.
According to the statement released by NASA officials, the trajectory of the ISS passes over more than 90 percent of the world’s population. The new Spot the Station service lets users know about the passes that are visible high enough in the sky and not blocked by any objects on the horizon. Also, Houston’s Johnson Space Center in Texas makes several calculations weekly for the sighting information relative to over 6,700 locations in the world.
But NASA didn’t only launch Spot the Station website; the agency has also released an embeddable widget of the service. This Spot the Station widget will let users find out when the ISS will pass over them. You can sign up on the official website to receive email or text updates when the ISS is visible in your selected locations.
Spot the Station was launched on the 16th anniversary of the International Space Station of humans working and living in the space lab. If you want to watch the ISS in the sky with the help of the new service, here’s a quick tip NASA officials have given. They said that the space station will be visible as a streak in the sky, traveling at the speed of 18,000 mph. The ISS is best visible at dusk and dawn.
So go try out “Spot the Station” and let us know if it works. Leave your comments below.
https://youtu.be/85zDWdm44AM