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The SPACE STATION (ISS) is now making visible passes in the evening sky. There is a very nice pass this evening and with the possibility of a nice clear evening, you might want to catch this one because VENUS is also putting on a nice show tonight as well. ISS comes out of the WSW after 9:18 pm , reaches its peak about 9:21 pm, high (nearly overhead) to the NNW, and disappears into the NE just before 9:23 pm. Its brightness (reached just after it attains its highest point) should almost rival Venus. Venus by-the-way is that very bright "Evening Star" well up in the West, lingerings well above the horizon into the NW for quite a while after sunset. Tonight VENUS is in a special position. It is paired with the Pleiades (Subaru), or "the Seven Sisters" . From 8:45 pm until at least 9:30 pm the sky will be dark enough to enjoy the cluster and Venus situated about 3 degrees apart, placing them within a binocular view of each other. The view, especially in binoculars, should be well worth the effort. Light from Venus tonight is taking about 8 minutes to reach us, tonight's light from Pleiades has taken about 400 years to get here. Perhaps AN IDEAL TIME to do this would be shortly before the Space Station arrives, say about 9:10 to 9:18, the ISS comes into view just after that in approximately the same part of the sky(a little more around to the north ( look for a moving star, dim at first but quickly brightening). As a point of interest, just as the ISS comes above our horizon, it is near overhead in Toronto. During a pass above our horizon (about 5 min) ISS travels about 2100 km (7km/s) at an altitude of around 380 km above Earth; I believe there are 3 people on board the space station. If they are looking westward as they pass over Nova Scotia, their horizon stretches jus nicely beyond Lake Ontario and Toronto and just beyond that, they can see that beautiful,, thin, blue fringe of atmosphere that sustains us. Be sure to dress warmly and find your darkest location looking west and north so you can enjoy your view of the sky and the time you have to stand around outside. Enjoy, Sherman Sherman Williams sherm@glinx.com website: http://www.glinx.com/~sherm
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