ISS Will Be in Constant Sunlight the Next Few Days

By Nancy Atkinson - June 25, 2010 at 11:15 AM UTC | Space Exploration
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I just took a look at

Heaven's Above

to check on when I could see the International Space Station this weekend, and got the surprise of my life! On Saturday (June 26) I have 5 -- count 'em -- 5 opportunities to see it! That is completely unusual, so what's up? For the next few days, the International Space Station (ISS) will be orbiting Earth in constant sunlight, as its orbit lines up with Earth's day-night terminator. Therefore, the

ISS

will be putting on an incredible show the next few nights, since it will be constantly illuminated, and will be visible in the night sky every single time it passes overhead. Some observers will be able to see the space station 3, 4 -- or like me -- even 5 times a night. Check on

Heaven's Above

, or NASA's NASA has a

Skywatch

page where you can find your specific city to look for satellite sighting info.

Spaceweather.com,

has a

Satellite Tracker Tool

. Just put in your zip code (good for the US and Canada) to find out what satellites will be flying over your house.

I'm expecting you all are going to be submitting some great astrophotos of the ISS during the next few days!

Send 'em in!

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com