Look up! International Space Station, newly discovered ‘green comet’ viewable this week
Get ready for some nicer weather Wednesday night and get ready to see the International Space Station fly over the tri-state area.
Get ready for some nicer weather Wednesday night and get ready to see the International Space Station fly over the tri-state area.
Wednesday night’s pass won’t be very long - only about three or four minutes depending on where you are viewing from. There will be another flyover happening Thursday night that will be even better. The weather will finally cooperate, too.
For Thursday’s pass, look toward the southwest sky at 8:09 p.m. The ISS will fly from the southwest to 14 degrees above the east-northeast. The total time will be six minutes.
Another thing to look out for - have you heard about the newly discovered green comet in the morning sky? Comet Nishimura is making its closest approach to Earth this week and then the sun this weekend. It was only discovered about a month ago by a Japanese amateur astronomer.
Where can you look for this comet and can it be seen with the unaided eye? Currently, it’s getting lower and lower on the horizon in the eastern sky during the pre-dawn hours. It’s been sighted in the constellation Leo. It’s brightened some from when it was first discovered and is currently about a 4.1 to 5 magnitude. At this brightness, it’s borderline on viewing and you would need good binoculars or a small telescope. By Saturday though, it will be lost in the brightness of the rising sun.
Comet Nishimura won’t be back for another 435 years.
