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When I was eight years old, my neighbour had a Christmas Eve party. Waiting to go home, well past midnight, while my parents said their drunken goodbyes, I looked up at the stars and thought I saw Father Christmas flying through the sky. Heading home on Christmas morning, my dad burst my bubble by saying it was most likely a plane, a bat, or even the International Space Station (ISS).
But, despite my disappointment then, this year I’m actually quite excited to see the International Space Station on Christmas morning, which is visible to the naked eye. In January 2031, ISS is scheduled to de-orbit and crash into the Pacific Ocean – and this groundbreaking spacecraft, a symbol of human collaboration, will come to an end…
Sorry if I get emotional, but I’ll be taking every opportunity to spot the ISS in our skies, and chat the ear off of anyone that will listen to me about it! (“It flies around the world every 90 minutes. It’s the same size as a football pitch. It weighs as much as 320 cars.”) But let’s get to why you’re here first.
When can I see the International Space Station on Christmas morning?
Credit: Dima Zel, Shutterstock
You’d better be an early riser if you fancy getting up to spot the space station on Christmas Day. It’s going to be flying over Bristol at 6:07 AM for four minutes from the WNW direction. Now that’s the sort of time I used to wake up for Christmas in the past, but it’s closer to when I go to bed these days…
What am I looking for?
Credit: Dima Zel, Shutterstock
The space station might look like an aeroplane or a bright star at first but is the second brightest object in the night sky after the moon. What makes it stand out is that it will move steadily at speed (“It flies 17,500 miles per hour or five miles per second”) in one direction with no flashing lights.
In many ways, you could call the International Space Station humanity’s stepping stone to the stars. As we prepare to visit new planets, it’s only because of microgravity and space environment experiments carried out on the ISS that it’s possible. Which in turn, wouldn’t’ve been possible without the whole human race working together. So take the time to show it some love this Christmas.
To learn more about when and where the space station will be visible head here.