How to View a Space Shuttle in the Night Sky

Locate a city where you plan to view the shuttle. NASA calculates the location of space shuttles and lists them on its website (see Resources). Click "Realtime Data" and choose your country from the menu on the left. Next, click the state or territory from the list. Finally, the city or town from the list. If your town isn't displayed, use the NASA Skywatch Applet (see Resources) to enter your exact location.

Review the sighting information for your location. The column to the far left is the name of the shuttle or space station. For example, "ISS" stands for International Space Station. The next column is the local date and time of the sighting opportunity. The column third from the right is duration, or how long the shuttle or satellite is visible if the sky is completely clear. The fourth column is max elevation above the horizon; the lower the number, the closer to the horizon. The fifth and sixth columns report the elevation and direction at which the spacecraft enters and leaves from view.

Find a location away from city lights. Not only should this location be dark but it should also position you so that you don't have to look over the city to see the spacecraft. Looking over the city means looking over a glaze of lights, which ruins your view.

Bring binoculars. Shuttles move too quickly for telescopes, but a pair of binoculars allows you to move with the shuttle and still see some of its detail.