Weather permitting, the International Space Station will be making a few nicely visible evening passes across Santa Barbara’s skies during the next week. Its orbit may change, and I’ve only listed the best evening events. To get the latest and most complete predictions, visit Heavens Above.
On Sunday, November 9, the ISS will make a low appearance over our ocean horizon, starting above Grus, the Crane, at 6:27 PM PST in the SSW and ending in the SSE by bright Fomalhaut, the mouth of Piscis Austrinus at 6:29 PM. Fomalhaut is about 25 light years away, and is often called the Lonely One, as it is the only first magnitude star in this part of the watery sky. A dense disk of debris has been detected around it, like a bigger version of our asteroid belt.
Monday’s pass will be very low but longer, along a similar path from 5:40 PM to 5:43 PM, going below Fomalhaut near Deneb Kaitos in Cetus, and fading out by dim Alrescha, the knot in the ribbon connecting the two fish of Pisces.
The brightest pass of this series will rise at 6:27 PM on Tuesday in the SW, going from Sagittarius, across the Summer Triangle asterism, and vanishing in our shadow at 6:30 PM in the NNE in Cepheus.
The station will be almost as bright on Wednesday, appearing in the SSW in Sagittarius at 5:38 PM, cruising through Capricornus and Aquarius, along the neck and back of Pegasus, and into Perseus low in the ENE at 5:44 PM.
Thursday’s pass will be low, from the W to the N, starting at 6:27 PM in Ophiuchus, along Hercules, and below the bowl of the Little Dipper asterism to disappear at 6:31 PM.
On Friday, the ISS will repeat a higher version of Thursday’s path, from the WSW at 5:38 PM, this time passing close to Polaris, and fading out by bright Capella in the NE at 5:45 PM.
This sequence will end on Saturday, with a pass low over our mountain horizon from WNW to NNE from 5:39 PM to 5:44 PM.
If its orbit doesn’t change, the ISS will be back for Thanksgiving.
Three Taikonauts are currently stranded in the Chinese space station Tiangong after space debris damaged their return capsule. Wish them well as they pass nearly overhead on Wednesday, November 12, rising in the WNW in Boötes at 5:46 PM, passing through the neck of Draco, along Cepheus to Andromeda, and vanishing near Alrescha in Pisces in the ESE at 5:51 PM.
Hasta nebula,
Chuck
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