macpuzl
(Photo: NASA)
By Chuck McPartlin
With the Sun now well north of the equator, Santa Barbara will get some long and bright visible evening passes from the International Space Station to start this series, weather permitting. Remember, they adjust their orbit occasionally, so to get the most recent predictions, visit Heavens Above.
On Saturday, May 19, the ISS will rise at 9:04 PM PDT on our ocean horizon to the S, and cruise low until it is just past bright Jupiter in the SE, when it will disappear into the Earth’s shadow at 9:07 PM. A view of Jupiter through binoculars will show three of its Galilean moons, with Ganymede and Io below, and Callisto well above. Europa will be transiting the face of Jupiter, and not easily visible, but if you’re using a telescope and the seeing is good, you may be able to pick out its tiny black shadow on Jupiter’s atmosphere.
On Sunday evening, the station will appear in the WSW at 9:47 PM, and fly from horizon to horizon, passing between the Moon and Procyon before setting in the NE at 9:54 PM.
Monday’s first pass will be the brightest of this series, starting at 8:55 PM in the SW, and passing overhead by Denebola, the tail of Leo, and ending near bright Vega at 9:02 PM in the NE. It will show up again at 10:34 PM in the WNW, much dimmer, and pass very low over our mountains to vanish in the N at 10:37 PM.
On Tuesday, May 22, it will rise at 9:40 PM in the W, and pass low below Procyon, between the Moon and the Castor/Pollux heads of Gemini, and set in the NNE at 9:45 PM.
Wednesday’s pass will be along a very similar path, but higher and brighter, starting in the WSW at 8:47 PM and ending in the NNE at 8:53 PM.
Thursday’s pass will be dim and very low over our mountains, starting in the NW at 9:34 PM and ending in the N just two minutes later.
The last pass of this sequence will rise at 8:40 PM in the WNW and be higher and slightly brighter, but otherwise similar to Thursday’s pass, setting at 8:45 PM in the NNE.
The ISS will be back at the start of June for a series of low evening appearances.
Hasta nebula.
