Celestially minded Miamians (and anyone else interested) will be able to view the International Space Station (ISS) with the naked eye Thursday morning, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
NASA’s “Spot the Station” widget identifies specific dates and times that the ISS will be visible without a telescope.
These windows, however, are narrow — the next opportunity for viewing the ISS will occur Thursday at 5:47 a.m., and it will only be visible for two minutes.
The International Space Station, launched in 1998, is a research laboratory intended to allow astronauts to perform scientific experiments outside of the Earth’s atmosphere. It orbits the Earth at nearly five miles per second.
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft will also be visible on Thursday. Dragon is a commercial spacecraft designed to transport cargo to and from space-based facilities like the ISS.
Early birds would have been able to see the ISS for one minute at 5:01 and for five minutes at 6:35 this morning.
For more information, and a complete list of future ISS and Dragon sightings in South Florida, visit spotthestation.nasa.gov and enter your location.