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TONIGHT: Look For Space Station Speeding Over South Florida

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- If you have ever wondered whether you can see the International Space Station from Earth, the answer is yes, and you see it tonight speeding over South Florida.

The ISS orbits at about 220 miles above the Earth and travels at an average speed of 17,227 miles per hour, according to NASA.

Tonight, you can spot the space station from South Florida starting at 7:58 p.m.

It'll emerge in the west southwest, 11 degrees above the horizon,  speed overhead for about 6 minutes and disappear in the northeast.

The space station can appear as the brightest object in the night sky, even brighter than Venus. It'll be moving pretty quick and there won't be any flashing lights.

CBS4 Meteorologist Dave Warren says the skies will be clearing and we should get a pretty good look.

The space station makes multiple orbits around the Earth every day.

There are two more brief opportunities to spot the station.

Friday at 8:47 p.m. for less than a minute and Saturday at 7:56 p.m. for 2 minutes.

Six space travelers are currently aboard the ISS. Three have been there for 108 days. The other three have been there a week.

For more on where the space station is, go to NASA's Spot the Station website.

 

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