First up will be the ISS. Observers have been reporting that the $100 billion station is so big now that it has become noticeably brighter in its flyovers. Many people have been spotting it in very bright skies, very close to sunrise or sunset. The photo above was taken some time ago, before the station reached its current configuration.

Below, left, is an image shot Feb. 9 by Josef Huber, at the Munich Public Star Observatory in Germany. The image on the right is a model, showing more clearly what the telescope saw.

You can see a video of the sequence, here. And here is a gallery of ISS images from the same observatory.

Our first opportunity to see the ISS will come Friday evening. The forecast is not promising - "mostly cloudy" at this reading. But here are the specifics, just in case: Look for the station to rise in the northwest at 6:16 p.m., appearing like a bright star, moving briskly toward the east as it heads from the Great Lakes toward the tip of Long Island. If it has multiple lights, or colored lights, it's an airplane. Keep looking.

The station is flying at about 17,500 mph, and a little more than 200 miles above the Earth. The ISS carries a crew of three, while the attached shuttle has a crew of seven.

The station will climb no more than a third of the way up the northeastern sky as it flies over New York's Hudson River Valley, passing just above the Big Dipper at about 6:19 p.m. Then it will fly off toward the eastern horizon, disappearing there at 6:22 p.m.

On Saturday evening, skies should be clear. The ISS will appear above the northwest horizon again, this time at 6:37 p.m., climbing high into the southwestern sky by 6:40 p.m. as it passes over central Virginia. From there it will zip off toward the southeast, passing close to the bright star Rigel at the foot of the constellation Orion before vanishing at 6:42 p.m.

But wait! There's more! Look for the waxing moon high overhead, alongside reddish Mars. No extra charge.

Next up is USA 193. I haven't seen this bird yet, so I can't say for sure how bright and easy to spot it will be. But the predicted magnitudes (apparent brightness) place it among some of the brighter (though not the brightest) winter stars. So unless you're in the city, it should be visible to most people with decent vision. Keep in mind that this bird is falling. It's orbit is decaying, so the times in the following predictions may, especially by late in the series, be thrown off by a minute or two. Allow time on either end of the predictions for such an error.

So, the first pass high enough to be easily tracked will come on Sunday evening. The forecast is poor, with an 80 percent chance for showers. But, if we get lucky, look for the spy satellite to rise above the southern horizon at 6:28 p.m., climbing to a little less than a third of the way up the southeastern sky by 6:30 p.m. It will skim just above the bright star Sirius before racing off toward the eastern horizon, disappearing there at 6:31 p.m.

Monday night's forecast is also doubtful - mostly cloudy. But, just in case, look for the USA 193 to rise above the southern horizon at 6:22 p.m., climbing higher this time - rising 56 degrees (more than halfway up) into the southeastern sky and passing just above Orion at 6:24 p.m. before sliding off toward the northeast and vanishing at 6:26 p.m.

Tuesday evening's pass by the doomed spy satellite will be the best of the batch. The forecast from this distance is excellent - clear skies. Look for the satellite to rise from the southwest at 6:15 p.m., climbing swiftly to more than 70 degrees above the northwestern horizon at 6:17. It will fly above the W-shaped constellation Cassiopeia, then head off toward the northeast, disappearing there at 6:20 p.m.

The last convenient flyby for USA 193 will come Wednesday evening. The satellite will rise above the western horizon at 6:08 p.m., climbing to about a third of the way up the northwestern horizon at 6:10 p.m. It will pass below Cassiopeia this time before slipping away toward the northern horizon, disappearing at 6:14 p.m.

That's it. If you manage to spot these objects once or twice you can consider the enterprise a success. Good luck. And, if you want to track this sort of prediction on your own, I recommend visiting the Heavens-Above.com website. You can program the satellite predictions for your own location, and there's a wealth of other information there for the backyard stargazer. It would be wise to use Heavens Above to recheck the predictions, in case of orbital decay.