In a unique event, the International Space Station (ISS) can be sighted streaking across the sky of Vidarbha on May 10 and 11. The ISS is making a passover since Friday evening and it will visible in Vidarbha sky till May 11. “ISS is the brightest artificial satellite and it often moves over Indian Metro cities. The ISS is currently passing over Vidarbha and people of Nagpur and Chandrapur can see it on May 10 and 11,” Suresh Chopane, President,

 

Green Planet Society told The Hitavada. “The ISS looks like a white dot, bigger than any star and faster than any aircraft in the sky. It can be identified easily at the exact time of its movement over Nagpur,” said Chopane. On Friday, the ISS was visible around 7.38 pm to 7.45 pm. It was again spotted on Saturday evening around 7.40 pm to 7.45 pm. Now, the ISS will be visible on Nagpur sky on Sunday between 4.42 am and 4.49 am and 7.43 pm to 7.47 pm. The ISS can be visible again on May 11 from 3.58 am to 4.01 am.

 

“The ISS is travelling from Southwest side to Northeast direction with a speed of more than 28,000 kmph. It will be visible to the naked eye if the sky is clear,” informed Chopane. The ISS is larger than a football field and weighs 460 tonnes. It circles the Earth every 90 minutes, giving astronauts aboard 16 sunrises every single day. From the ground, it appears as a brilliantly bright, steady white light — no blinking, no colour change — gliding smoothly and swiftly across the sky. Its ground track covers various parts of the country depending on its orbit inclination of 51.6.