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ISS flyover tonight, if skies clear by 6

Okay, Space cadets... I have my doubts about whether this storm will clear out in time, but here are the specs for tonight's Baltimore flyover by the International Space Station. If we can see it, it will be a very fine pass. The ISS will follow the same track as Wednesday's flyby, but this time it will be brighter, and it will be visible across the entire sky.

If the clouds part, look for a bright, star-like object rising above the southwest horizon at 6:07 p.m. and climbing almost two-thirds of the way up the northwestern sky. (If it has multiple lights, colored lights, or a blinking strobe, it's an airplane. Keep looking.)

The ISS will pass through the W-shaped constellation Cassiopeia at about 6:10 p.m., and head off toward the northeast, disappearing from view near the Big Dipper at 6:13 p.m.

The station, with three people on board, is orbiting the Earth at 17,500 mph, just over 200 miles above the surface. As we pick it up here, it will be high over northern Alabama, passing northwest of Baltimore and moving off toward coastal Maine, New Brunswick and Newfoundland. Here's the ground track map, from http://www.heavens-above.com

Heavens-Above.com

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About Frank Roylance
Frank Roylance is a reporter for The Baltimore Sun. He came to Baltimore from New Bedford, Mass. in 1980 to join the old Evening Sun. He moved to the morning Sun when the papers merged in 1992, and has spent most of his time since covering science, including astronomy and the weather. One of The Baltimore Sun's first online Web logs, the Weather Blog debuted in October 2004. In June 2006 Frank also began writing comments on local weather and stargazing for The Baltimore Sun's print Weather Page.
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