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| Buzz lightyear, the Moon, Jupiter and the International Space Station, as seen in Co. Mayo last night. Image Brian Wilson |
The 500-tonne International Space Station (ISS) will be visible in the skies over Ireland and Britain shortly before 7 pm this evening (Tuesday, 19 February 2013).
The $100billion craft will be visible as an extremely bright
'star' moving across the sky from right to left. The most expensive
object ever built by mankind will take approximately 11 minutes to cross
the sky from 6.51 pm to 7.02 pm (maximum height at 6.56 pm). There will be further viewing opportunities during the next few days (see below chart), including two tomorrow evening.
The
International Space Station is the largest spacecraft ever to be put
into orbit, and the most expensive thing ever built, at approximately
€100 billion. The huge craft is roughly the size of Croke Park, and its
massive solar panels reflect sunlight, making it appear extremely bright
when seen from Earth. On board the craft at present are five men and one woman - the only six astronauts in space at present.
Track the ISS in real-time
HERE.
For more time-lapse imagery, visit the NASA website:
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/Videos/CrewEarthObservationsVideos.
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| @Cmdr_Hadfield on board the International Space Station photographed Dublin at night. |
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| Ireland and Britain from space, as seen from the ISS. Image NASA |
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| International Space Station, The Moon and Jupiter over Kildare last night. Image Chris Wild |
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| This image of
Ireland was taken on the 28th April 2011 at 18.30 GMT from the
International Space Station as it passed over the UK. |
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| The east coast
of Ireland, as well as the Welsh coastline, is clearly visible. The
weather conditions on the ground at the time were hazy which created
this obscure but beautiful capture. |
