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Weather permitting, the International Space Station and the Chinese Tiangong will be making some nicely visible evening and early morning passes across Santa Barbara’s skies to end the month. Their orbits may change, and I’ve only listed the best evening events, so to get the latest and most complete predictions, visit Heavens Above.
On Wednesday, May 21, the ISS will make a short, low pass over our mountain horizon, starting at 10:39 PM PDT in the WNW, near bright Capella, and ending in Cepheus in the N at 10:41 PM.
Thursday’s pass will be lower but longer, skimming the mountains from the N at 9:52 PM to the NE at 9:54 PM.
The ISS will pop up in the NW on Friday at 10:39 PM near Capella, vanishing into our shadow in the NNW two minutes later in dim Camelopardalis, west of Polaris.
Saturday will have a bright pass, rising at 9:51 PM by Capella in the NNW, going below Polaris and past Thuban in Draco, which was the north star when the pyramids were built. It will fade out at 9:55 PM in the NE before reaching bright Vega.
Sunday will have two evening ISS passes. The first will begin at 9:03 PM in the NNW, and follow a path similar to Saturday’s, but slightly lower and longer, ending below Hercules in the E at 9:08 PM. On its next orbit, it will pop up in the WNW at 10:40 PM, go by Castor and Pollux, the heads of Gemini, and into dim Cancer to disappear into our shadow a minute later before reaching Mars.
On Monday, May 26, Tiangong will rise at 9:18 PM in the SW below Crater, go across Corvus and below bright bluish Spica and vanish at 9:22 PM in the E in Ophiuchus. Then, at 9:51 PM, the ISS will rise in the NW in Auriga for its brightest pass of this sequence, climbing into Earth’s shadow in Coma Berenices high in the S at 9:55 PM.
On Tuesday, the ISS will lead off in the NW at 9:03 PM for a bright high pass from Capella, between the Bears, above Hercules, and into Ophiuchus in the ESE at 9:09 PM. At 9:53 PM in the WSW, Tiangong will go from the head of Hydra and high above, past the pointer stars of the Big Dipper, and vanish in Draco in the NE at 9:58 PM.
Tiangong will start off Wednesday with its last and brightest pass, rising at 8:52 PM in the WSW, going by orange Alphard, the heart of Hydra, through the tail of Leo, across Boötes, and into Hercules in the ENE at 8:58 PM. At 9:52 PM in the WNW, the ISS will pass below the Moon and along Hydra to fade out below Crater in the SW at 9:55 PM.
The ISS will appear on Thursday in the WNW at 9:04 PM, cruise above Jupiter, below the Moon, below Mars, and through Hydra to set at 9:09 PM in Centaurus in the SSE.
The last ISS pass of this sequence will be on Saturday, May 31, from 9:05 PM in the W below Gemini, along the length of Hydra, and into Centaurus, setting at 9:08 in the SSW.
The ISS will return to our evening skies in July after a series of predawn passes in June.
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