It's a bird! It's a plane! No... It's the International Space Station!

My good friend David Johnson of Camden (one of the smartest guys I know) tipped me off to something cool last night when he posted a link about the International Space Station (ISS) on Facebook.
The link - http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/ - provides information on when and where to look if you’d like to watch the ISS pass over your location.
The site is simple and easy to use if you’d like to try it. Just visit the site and click “Go to Country” under “Sighting Opportunities.” If you choose the United States (as most of you will), then the site will take you to another page where you have to select the state or territory where you’re located. If you’re in Alabama, selected Alabama and on the next page, select the city closest to you.
The next page will give you the times in which the ISS will be visible from your location on days when sighting opportunities are possible. The site will also tell you in which direction to look to see the ISS “approach” and “depart.” It also gives you an idea of how many minutes the ISS will be visible. (Keep in mind that the weather will have to cooperate if you hope to see it.)
I first used this information last night and watched from my backyard as the ISS tracked across the sky for four minutes. It was dim near the horizons, but once it got up into the sky, it was very bright and moved rapidly across the night sky.
My parents were in the neighborhood tonight for a brief visit and happened to be here when the ISS made its pass tonight. Again, in the backyard, we watched as it moved across the sky. This time around, I not only got to see it, but my wife, kids and parents did too. It was pretty cool, and I couldn’t help but be reminded of watching Haley’s Comet make its rare pass over the Earth when I was in the fourth grade.
If you’re interested in watching it pass over the Monroeville area tomorrow (Friday) night, be outside just after 9 p.m. The ISS will pass over at 9:02 p.m. and should be visible for about four minutes. It will approach from the West-Southwest and will track toward the North-Northeast. (Keep in mind that the weather will have to cooperate, so if it’s too cloudy then it may mess up the viewing opportunity.)
The ISS is easily visible from Earth because it’s in low Earth orbit and is the largest artificial satellite that has ever orbited Earth. My wife, Crystal, wanted to know how far away it is and a little research revealed that the ISS maintains an orbit of between 173 and 286 miles. And that sucker is moving too! It travels at an average speed of 17,239 miles per hour and completes 15.7 orbits per day.