Venus [courtesy of NASA]

Look towards West-Southwest (WSW) in the direction of Wing shortly after sunset, and cloud cover permitting, you will notice the two brightest objects in the night sky.

Venus is the closest planet to Earth and never strays too far away from the Sun due to its relatively close orbit, and being the second closest planet orbiting the Sun.  So if you don’t want to miss the pairing, make sure you catch a glimpse earlier in the evening before Venus sets on the horizon.

Venus, although Earth-like in many ways, is a particularly inhospitable place to visit, none of the space probes sent to land there lasted very long due to the very high surface temperature of 464°C, 90 times Earth’s atmospheric pressure, and acidic conditions.

Some scientists believe that Venus’ atmosphere may have been much more Earth-like in the past, with an abundance of water. Doomsday comparisons are often made between the natural runaway green-house effect that has occurred on Venus, and the possible man-made fate that awaits our own planet.

A bit late notice, but the weather is looking good to observe the partial flyover of the ISS this evening starting at 11pm, on the horizon from the direction of Uppingham.

The ISS will move in an easterly direction towards Easton on the Hill, but will fade away after about 5 minutes, shortly after reaching its maximum height in the sky, when it will be eclipsed by the Earth’s shadow.

Pass beginning

Date/time: 8/6 23:00:20
Azimuth: 245.09° (WSW)
Elevation (altitude): 0.14°
Magnitude: 1.4
Distance to satellite: 2349.3 km
In Earth’s shadow (eclipsed): NO

Maximum altitude

Date/time: 8/6 23:05:40
Azimuth: 165.60° (S)
Elevation (altitude): 53.28°
Magnitude: -1.9
Distance to satellite: 520.4 km
In Earth’s shadow (eclipsed): NO

Pass ending

Date/time: 8/6 23:11:0
Azimuth: 81.56° (E)
Elevation (altitude): 0.44°
Magnitude: –
Distance to satellite: 2311.7 km
In Earth’s shadow (eclipsed): YES

Good visible pass

Data courtesy of Real Time Satellite Tracking

ISS Cupola [photo courtesy NASA]

Tonight, the ISS will reach a little higher than Tuesday, about 2/3 up from the horizon and will rise at 11:30pm in the direction of Morcott and set at 11:41pm in the direction of Collyweston.

If you are curious to know what it is like living on the inside of the ISS then this video by Sunita Williams of NASA provides a very extensive tour:

Pass beginning

• Date/time: 6/6 23:30:40
• Azimuth: 251.36° (WSW)
• Elevation (altitude): 0.22°
• Magnitude: 1.3
• Distance to satellite: 2313.2 km
• In Earth’s shadow (eclipsed): NO

Maximum altitude

• Date/time: 6/6 23:36:0
• Azimuth: 162.87° (SSE)
• Elevation (altitude): 61.96°
• Magnitude: -2.2
• Distance to satellite: 465.9 km
• In Earth’s shadow (eclipsed): NO

Pass ending

• Date/time: 6/6 23:41:15
• Azimuth: 83.66° (E)
• Elevation (altitude): 0.37°
• Magnitude: 1.3
• Distance to satellite: 2297.5 km
• In Earth’s shadow (eclipsed): NO

Data courtesy of Real Time Satellite Tracking

ISS in orbit [photo courtesy NASA]

The ISS is the largest man-made space object ever built, it cost $150 billion and and took just over 12 years to assemble in space.

The ISS is very easy to view if the weather is clear and you look out at precisely the right time, there is no need for binoculars or a telescope. Unless you have some sophisticated telescope equipment the best way to view it is with the naked eye. Just look towards South Luffenham/Barrowden and half-way up into the sky and you should see it.

Typically the ISS will appear as the brightest object in the sky (unless the moon is up) moving from East to the West, faster than a typical passenger aircraft would flyover, and without any sound.  The brightness of the ISS may change as it rises and falls due to the changing angle of the sun reflecting off of the huge solar panel arrays and whether it passes through the Earth’s shadow or not.

Don’t worry if you miss it, the ISS passes over frequently and it is expected to stay in orbit to at least 2020, so plenty of time to catch a glimpse of it yet.

Pass beginning

Date/time: 6/4 23:32:10
Azimuth: 236.71° (SW)
Elevation (altitude): 0.15°
Magnitude: 1.3
Distance to satellite: 2317.8 km
In Earth’s shadow (eclipsed): NO

Maximum altitude

Date/time: 6/4 23:37:25
Azimuth: 156.79° (SSE)
Elevation (altitude): 41.40°
Magnitude: -1.6
Distance to satellite: 604.1 km
In Earth’s shadow (eclipsed): NO

Pass ending

Date/time: 6/4 23:42:35
Azimuth: 80.05° (E)
Elevation (altitude): 0.43°
Magnitude: 1.3
Distance to satellite: 2292.5 km
In Earth’s shadow (eclipsed): NO

Good visible pass

Data courtesy of Real Time Satellite Tracking