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Aug 23, 2023

Last chance to see the International Space Station in the NJ sky

Sunday night, my daughter took a kayak ride on the lake behind our house. As it got dark, she noticed a man standing on his dock looking up at the sky. He asked her if she was out there to check out

Sunday night, my daughter took a kayak ride on the lake behind our house. As it got dark, she noticed a man standing on his dock looking up at the sky.

He asked her if she was out there to check out the International Space Station. She said no, she just lost track of time and was late getting back in.

He told her he’s been watching the International Space Station fly overhead over the New Jersey sky all week long.

It will be visible at least one last time tonight over the New Jersey sky.

It looks like a very slow-moving shooting star. You can tell it’s not an airplane because of the lack of a flashing light.

It’s cool to think that there are humans hundreds of miles above our head — that are doing work and collecting data in a small space station that you can actually see with the naked eye flying overhead.

The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest human-made object to fly in space and can be seen from anywhere around the world when the conditions are right.

The football field-sized space laboratory flies 250 miles above Earth’s surface at a speed of around 17,500 mph and has been continuously crewed by astronauts since Nov. 2, 2000, according to Accuweather.

International Space Station viewing conditions are favorable several times a month, providing skywatchers of all ages the opportunity to see one of NASA's biggest achievements by just taking a few short steps outside.

Here is the official viewing time from NASA.

Although the ISS is always orbiting the Earth, it is not always visible and requires a small amount of planning — and cloud-free weather — to spot.

It is definitely a good week to be a skywatcher.

As a bonus, NASA was launching a rocket Tuesday night from its Eastern Virginia Wallops Flight Facility Center. The rocket was set to launch at 8:31 p.m.

The best place to see it here would be anywhere along the Jersey Shore, but with a good pair of binoculars, it can be seen from other parts of the state as well.

It's a great thing for kids and adults alike over the skies of New Jersey this week.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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