The International Space Station is set to be visible across UK this week - for those willing to get up early enough to spot it.
The orbit of the space station means it passes UK skies at regular intervals - and is visible when it is dark and the weather is clear, reports The Mirror.
NASA explained: “It needs to be dark where you are and the space station needs to be overhead in order for you to see it.
“Since the space station’s orbit takes it all around the globe, it can be passing over you at times when it will not be visible- either in the middle of the day or the middle of the night. The space station must be 40 degrees or more above the horizon for it to be visible.”
When is the ISS visible this week?
According to NASA’s Spot The Station tracker, the ISS will be visible four times this week in the UK:
Thu Aug 27, 5:12 AM
Fri Aug 28, 4:26 AM
Sat Aug 29, 5:12 AM
Sun Aug 30, 4:27 AM
For your best chance of seeing the ISS, check the precise time for sightings in your area using NASA’s Spot The Station website.
NASA explained: “The space station looks like an airplane or a very bright star moving across the sky, except it doesn’t have flashing lights or change direction.
“It will also be moving considerably faster than a typical airplane (airplanes generally fly at about 600 miles (965 km) per hour; the space station flies at 17,500 miles (28,000 km) per hour).”
The ISS has been in orbit for over 20 years now, and is Earth’s only microgravity laboratory.
NASA explained: “This football field-sized platform hosts a plethora of science and technology experiments that are continuously being conducted by crew members, or are automated.
“Research aboard the orbiting laboratory holds benefits for life back on Earth, as well as for future space exploration.
“The space station serves as a testbed for technologies and allows us to study the impacts of long-term spaceflight to humans, supporting NASA’s mission to push human presence farther into space.”
