ISS and spy satellite visible tonight

In addition to our viewing of the moon and Saturn tonight in Monrovia, there are a couple of interesting passes for the International Space Station and the famous decaying spy satellite referred to as USA 193. First to pass is the spy satellite. It will be magnitude 1.2 at its brightest, not as bright as the bright planets or brightest stars, but should be easily visible. It will first become visible low in the southwest at 6:33 p.m., and reach its maximum altitude near Mars at 6:35 p.m. It will fade out a minute later in the northeast. Then there's the International Space Station (ISS) which has shuttle Atlantis docked at the moment. It will be the brightest thing in the sky besides the moon. ISS will first appear in the northwest at 6:41 p.m., and reach maximum altitude, almost overhead, at 6:44 p.m. It will enter the earth's shadow about a minute later. Orbiting satellites look like moving stars, and follow very different paths in the sky from airplanes. Their light comes from the sun shining on them -- they don't produce any light of their own. If it blinks, it's an airplane. :) We'll be pointing them both out in Monrovia tonight, but they should be visible from most anywhere near L.A. Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org