Up until yesterday, I didn’t know that it is possible to observe the International Space Station (ISS) with the naked eye if you know when and where to look. I just assumed you’d need binoculars or a telescope to see it as it orbits over Earth. Then I visited the Heavens-Above.com website at http://www.heavens-above.com/?lat=39.9526&lng=-75.1652&loc=Philadelphia&alt=14&tz=EST and found out exactly how easy it is to be in the right place at the right time for observing the ISS without any fancy equipment or knowledge of the night sky. In this essay, I will outline my plan for observing the International Space Station in the skies over Philadelphia on the night of April 5th, 2016 (weather permitting).
My first step was to visit the Heavens-Above.com website and enter in my location, and then study the 10-day prediction period for the ISS to determine the best night for viewing. The best way to do this is to find a night when the ISS will appear the brightest since I will be trying to see it from under the city lights. Using the chart on the website, I determined that the ISS will have the brightest magnitude tomorrow night.
Next, I downloaded the following star chart and ground information to help guide me (See Figure 1). I can see the short arrow at the top of the globe that
Figure 1 Star Chart with ISS Visible Path
Works Cited
Pest, Chris. Heavens-Above.com. n.p. n.d. Web. 4 April 2016.
TimeandDate.com. n.p. n.d. Web. 4 April 2016
