Keep your eyes peeled to the skies Friday and Saturday night -- because we will have a great view of the International Space Station as it passes over!
The ISS will cross over the U.S. this weekend from the Gulf Coast to the North Atlantic.
It will begin passing over West Tennessee at precisely 10:15 p.m. Friday night and remain visible for six minutes. In Knoxville and most of East Tennessee, its current orbit has it passing above us from 10:16 p.m. to 10:22 p.m.
If you're watching, you should be able to see a white shimmering dot that looks like a fast-moving airplane passing overhead with the naked eye. It moves fast (more than 17,000 mph fast), but it's typically the brightest object in the sky -- bright enough to be seen from the middle of a city.
The ISS should appear from the southwest sky and disappear to the northeast Friday starting at 10:16 p.m. in Knoxville.
On Saturday, it won't be quite as high above the horizon, but should still be visible for 6 minutes starting at 9:25 p.m. from the south-southwest to the east-northeast.
You can search for a full list of possible ISS sightings in your area at this link.
Retired astronaut and Tennessee graduate Scott Kelly is one person who sparked East Tennessee's fascination with space. He spent close to a full year on the ISS in 2015 and 2016 on a historic mission -- and became a social media sensation during that time for the fascinating images and video he shared.
