International Space Station visible from Joburg

Astronomical Society of South Africa (ASSA) chairperson Jerome Jooste explained that one or two dates from January 20 to 24 have been distributed on social networks as the perfect time to look out for the space station, Randburg Sun reported.

Jooste said these dates were incorrect as the altitude would be below 15 degrees on those dates, making it impossible to spot the ISS with the naked eye.

“The ISS is often dulled or totally obscured by clouds or smog and haze on the horizon when the altitude is below 15,” said Jooste.

“In the astronomical world, brightness is indicated by magnitude – magnitude 1 indicates the brightest stars. Sirius is the brightest star we can see high overhead in the evening sky, and the good thing is that the ISS will be far brighter than Sirius between January 26 and 31, which makes it very easy to spot with the naked eye.”

The ISS is the largest “artificial” body in orbit.

It was launched into space in 1998 and currently orbits at a constant altitude – between 330 and 435km from the earth. It completes about 15 orbits a day around the earth.

It serves as a space research laboratory where experiments in fields like astronomy, meteorology and biology are conducted.

The ASSA issued the below dates for visible passes of the ISS:

• January 26 – the ISS will be visible from 8.08pm to 8.09pm.
• January 27 – the visibility time is from 7.17pm to 7.20pm
• January 28 – the space station will be visible from 8.01pm to 8.03pm.
• January 29 visibility will last from 7.09pm to 7.14pm, with the highest point at 7.12pm.
• January 31 – the ISS will first be visible on 7.03pm, with highest point at 7.05pm, and it will end at 7.07pm.

– Caxton News Service