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Ben Preiss
Space Station Becomes the Brightest Manmade Object in the Sky (GALLERY)
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It’s almost as bright as Jupiter and four times as bright as Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. This thanks to the new solar arrays that the Space Shuttle Atlantis just delivered and the astronauts space walked to snap together. If it’s so bright why haven’t you seen it? Well since it orbits at about 18,000 mph (29,000 kilometers per hour) you just have to know when and where to look. Go to the following link and plug in your hometown info to find out:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/
A large telescope would be needed to make out details of the sprawling station. Traveling in their respective orbits at approximately 18,000 mph (29,000 kilometers per hour), both should be visible from about one to four minutes (depending on the particular viewing pass) as they glide with a steady speed across the sky.
Because of its size and configuration of highly reflective solar panels, the Space Station is now, by far, the brightest man-made object currently in orbit around the Earth.
On future missions, additional solar arrays will be deployed, making the ISS appear even brighter. When completed in 2010, it might even rival Venus, the brightest planet. And as a bonus, sunlight glinting directly off the solar panels can sometimes make the ISS appear to briefly flare in brilliance.
(space)
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Read More: spaceflight.nasa.gov Via: space
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