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Wales Online
Wales Online
Entertainment
Victoria Jones

This is when you can see the International Space Station over Wales this weekend

If you look up to the sky this weekend, there's a chance of seeing the International Space Station (ISS) fly above Wales.

It currently is carrying the six-member Expedition 59 crew who just finished a successful spacewalk on the Russian side of the International Space Station.

Expedition 59 commander Oleg Kononenko and flight engineer Aleksey Ovchinin completed the fourth spacewalk of 2019 on Wednesday.

The ISS is seen travelling across the sky above Caldey Island in Pembrokeshire (Drew Buckley/REX)

They paid tribute to fellow cosmonaut Alexei Leonov to mark his 85th birthday with placards added to their spacesuits for the excursion.

He was the first human to conduct a spacewalk on March 18, 1965, when he exited the spacecraft for 12 minutes.

The first residents of the International Space Station (ISS) boarded in November 2000 and it has been continuously occupied ever since.

You can see the ISS over Wales on Friday for around six minutes, Saturday for about three minutes, Sunday for about five minutes and Tuesday for about a minute.

Use this tool to enter your nearest location and find out when you can spot the station. If your city or town isn’t listed then pick one that is fairly close to you. NASA say the space station is visible for at least a 50 mile radius around each of the listed locations.

*If you click "more sightings" you'll see a more detailed timetable for your location.

You can also enter your location, using the tool below, to find out when you'll be able to spot the ISS.

For more information visit Nasa's Spot The Station website .

How to spot the station

This picture of the International Space Station was photographed from the space shuttle Atlantis (NASA)

 

NASA explain what all of the sighting information means:

Time is when the sighting opportunity will begin in your local time zone. All sightings will occur within a few hours before or after sunrise or sunset. This is the optimum viewing period as the sun reflects off the space station and contrasts against the darker sky.

Visible is the maximum time period the space station is visible before crossing back below the horizon.

Max height is measured in degrees (also known as elevation). It represents the height of the space station from the horizon in the night sky. The horizon is at zero degrees, and directly overhead is ninety degrees. If you hold your fist at arm’s length and place your fist resting on the horizon, the top will be about 10 degrees.

Appears is the location in the sky where the station will be visible first. This value, like maximum height, also is measured in degrees from the horizon. The letters represent compass directions -- N is north, WNW is west by northwest, and so on.

Disappears represents where in the night sky the International Space Station will leave your field of view.

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