I saw the International Space Station yesterday.
I was driving home at about 6 pm. The sky was clear. As I headed west, I saw what I first assumed to be a plane, but it was long and skinny, almost like a lighted dragonfly. It wasn’t moving as fast as a plane.
I pulled into the driveway and called my husband and son to come look, and to bring binoculars. After we’d all stared at the wavy little lighted thing, we went inside and looked up the ISS current ground track at Heavens Above, and sure enough, it was passing right over us.
My husband asked why I was so excited. First, as an old time science fiction fan and engineer in the aerospace industry, it’s always great to find and identify an astronomical object. Second, it’s great to find and identify a human made astronomical object. And finally, it’s great to find and identify a human made astronomical object that has five human beings living and working on it.
“You’re kidding!” he said. “There are people on that thing?”
Yes, there are people on that thing. Incredible, isn’t it?
I saw it myself for the first time a couple of months ago at dusk and I could see the same tiny, skinny dragonfly appearance of it. I had the same thoughts of, “there are PEOPLE in that thing!” So cool.
That is a great sighting! I would be excited too
That is seriously cool! ;D