This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Here's How to See Space Station Flying Over Palo Alto

NASA charts say it will be visible tonight -- Christmas Eve! -- and on and off through New Year's.

BTodd Richissin

Not all that long ago, anything like the International Space Station was reserved for science fiction.

The space station, or ISS, has been a reality for some time now.

But did you know that you can spot it with the naked eye?

NASA has a Spot the Station program, where you can sign up for to be notified when the ISS will be visible over the Bay Area, or whatever location you choose.

You can receive alerts via email or a text message to your phone.  Visit the Spot the Station website here to sign up, and view a list of upcoming sighting opportunities.

To view the ISS sightings possible in Palo Alto through Tuesday, Jan 1, follow this link.

The ISS is so bright, it can even been seen from the center of a city. Then just as suddenly as it appears, it disappears. 

So far, more than half a million people have signed up to receive alerts from NASA, according to Earthsky.org.

Some background fun facts from Earthsky.org:

Find out what's happening in Palo Altowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • The first module of the ISS was launched into space in 1998 and the initial construction of the station took about two years to complete. 
  • Human occupation of the station began on Nov, 2, 2000. Since that time, the ISS has been continuously occupied and more than 214 people have visited to date. 
  • The ISS serves as both an orbiting laboratory and a port for international spacecraft. The primary partnering countries involved in operating the ISS include the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan and Russia.
  • The ISS orbits at approximately 220 miles above the Earth and it travels at an average speed of 27,724 kilometers (17,227 miles) per hour. The ISS makes multiple orbits around the Earth every day. 
  • So far, the ISS has traveled more than 1.5 billion miles through space.



We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?