NASA’s International Space Station (ISS) will be visible to the naked eye in the evenings.It will be visible from Mumbai three days in a row, starting today. ISS is a habitable artificial satellite in Earth’s low orbit.
The space station will be visible for 7 minutes on the first day, starting 6.54 pm.
The most extraordinary sight will play out on the second day, for 9 minutes, starting 7.35 pm, when the $150 billion satellite passes between Venus and Mars.
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The first sighting will occur at 6.54 pm today. “At that time, the ISS will be visible on Mumbai’s horizon,” said Arvind Paranjpye, director of Nehru Planetarium. “It will be in the line of sight of Mumbaikars, and slightly west of true north. At 6.51 pm and 16 seconds, it will climb up to 10° above the horizon. At this point, the satellite will head due north. At 6.54 pm and 2 seconds, it will move in the northeast direction; one should be able to see it passing at a 25° angle above the horizon. The ISS will become clearer as it climbs higher.”
“If Mumbaikars face west during this time, they will see a very bright object in the sky. This’ll be Venus. Slightly above it will be a reddish-coloured astral body. That’ll be Mars. Since it will be really dark, both bodies will be easily identifiable. During those 9 minutes, the ISS will pass between both planets.” said Paranjpye.