Is it a bird? A plane? No, it's the International Space Station. (Tampa: garage)

[thethinktank]

At 6:41p.m. tonight, the International Space Station flew directly over downtown Tampa. At its peak, it was the brightest object in the sky, brighter than any visible star and the thin crescent moon which was yet to rise. Having never seen the ISS before, it was truly an incredible sight.

The International Space Station passes over Tampa pretty often, but it is rare to see it on a night like tonight. Usually, the ISS passes at a low angle-- less than 30 degrees from the horizon, where most stars are barely visible. Second, it usually passes in the early morning, when few are awake to see it. Last, it's very rare to see it on or near a new moon that has yet to rise. On a night like tonight, it was burning bright and directly overhead-- barely 90 minutes after sunset.

I learned that the International Space Station is viewable by the naked eye two months ago, when I heard about NASA's Spot the Station service. You can sign up with your email, location and preferred viewing time and the service will automatically email you the morning of the day of the expected pass. I had forgotten about signing up, until all of a sudden I received an email this morning. I made sure I was free this evening, headed to the roof of a nearby parking garage without lights on the roof, and watched the station pass. It was the brightest object by far, and it passed in three quick minutes. Definitely worth setting aside the time for the bragging rights alone.

If you want to be alerted of the next pass, you can sign up here like I did:
NASA - Spot The Station

If I had known it was so easy to spot the ISS in the sky, I would have mentioned it here on City Data beforehand. Check out the above site if you want to be prepared for the next easily viewable pass. It's worth it!!