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Steve Roy RELEASE: H00-114 NO TELESCOPE NEEDED: NASA WEB SITES LET STARGAZERS TRACK IMPENDING SPACE STATION "NUPTIALS" Stargazers will be in for a rare treat July 25, when the newest piece of the International Space Station joins its mate in a match made in the heavens. And you can track the module's progress with the naked eye. Web sites developed by both NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL, and NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, are making it easy and exciting for enthusiasts across the country and around the world to catch a glimpse of the Russian Zvezda Service Module, as it closes in on the International Space Station for a July 25 docking. Marshall's "Liftoff to Space Exploration" web site, http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/, and Johnson's Skywatch web site, http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/ let you identify the orbiting space station -- and determine, in advance, when it will pass over your hometown. Orbiting at more than 200 miles above the Earth, the Space Station is quickly growing into one of the brightest permanent fixtures in the night sky. Currently made up of the American module "Unity" and the Russian section "Zarya," the station circles the planet approximately 16 times per day, traveling at 17,500 mph in an orbit. Because it reflects sunlight, the space station often looks like a slow-moving star as it crosses the sky. That deceptive appearance can fool a casual viewer, but it also makes sighting the station easier if one knows when and where to look. The best time to catch a glimpse of the space station is near dawn or dusk, when the viewer is in near-darkness and the passing station continues to reflect light from the rising or setting Sun. NASA's web sites provide users with optimal visibility times for their locations. Viewed under optimal conditions, the station has been observed to appear nearly as bright as the star Sirius. When construction is complete, estimates suggest the 470-ton "city in space" will be brighter than the planet Venus. Access to both NASA web sites requires a Java-enabled browser, such as recent versions of Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer. For viewers without a Java-enabled browser, the web sites include other methods for obtaining sighting information. Johnson's Skywatch site contains a text-only list of sighting opportunities, while Marshall's site features an automated mailing list option. Subscribers to the list -- more than 8,000 to date -- are notified by e-mail of upcoming satellite passes. The International Space Station is a cooperative endeavor by the United States and 15 other nations. It is the largest international space construction effort in history. -END- NASA press releases and other information are available automatically by sending an Internet electronic mail message to domo@hq.nasa.gov. In the body of the message (not the subject line) users should type the words "subscribe press-release" (no quotes). The system will reply with a confirmation via E-mail of each subscription. A second automatic message will include additional information on the service. NASA releases also are available via CompuServe using the command GO NASA. To unsubscribe from this mailing list, address an E-mail message to domo@hq.nasa.gov, leave the subject blank, and type only "unsubscribe press-release" (no quotes) in the body of the message. |
