FIRST ALERT: Astronomical sighting guaranteed!

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Did you miss the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch earlier this month or sleep through your alarm to wake for March’s total lunar eclipse? If your efforts to see something astronomical (pun intended) have failed you, this is for you!

High above the Earth, approximately 250 miles up, is the International Space Station, or ISS. According to NASA, the ISS is about the size of a football field and is the largest human-made object ever to orbit Earth.

Like clockwork, the ISS cruises across our sky while traveling 17,500 miles per hour around the Earth! If you know where and when to look, with a clear sky, you can’t miss it! Because the ISS orbits Earth every 90 minutes, the opportunities to catch it are endless. Just remember, the space station will look like a very bright star moving across the night sky, without blinking or changing direction.

For instance, if you’re in Columbia, you can see it Monday night for 1 minute at 11:24 before it disappears back below the horizon.

For more on additional times to view the ISS from any location in the world, you can visit NASA’s Spot The Station web page.

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