ISS FLYBYS: Here’s something you can definitely see: the International Space Station. The behemoth spaceship spans 93 meters, masses 227,000 kg and shines about as brightly as the planet Venus. For comparison, astronomy professor Jimmy Westlake photographed the space station streaking past Venus last night over Stagecoach, Colorado:

“It was very cool,” says Westlake. “The streak shows how far the ISS moved during the 35 second exposure. I used a Fuji Finepix S2
digital camera and a 35 mm Nikkor lens.”

North Americans should be alert for more scenes like this in the evenings ahead. The ISS is making a series of twilight passes over the United States and Canada this week: flyby times.

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